Slushy Facials and Bathroom Talks
by blahblahpalooza
Summary: Rachel gets slushied on the first day of school. Santana is forced to help her. Will they discover that they don't actually hate each other and become friends, or more?
1. Blue slushy facial

First fanfic.. Reviews and constructive criticism are very much welcome

* * *

><p>Rachel was in the main hall of McKinley at 7:30 in the morning. The hall was nearly deserted due to the early hour, but as she told her fathers before she left for the day: "It never hurts to be punctual!"<p>

"Thirsty, Manhands?" With that, Rachel was splashed with a giant blue slushy. She was standing in front of her locker on the first day of school. She had been distracted, in her attempts to work out her new locker combination, and hadn't seen the hulking figures of the football players approaching.

"Seriously?" The diva asked. But the four jocks ignored her yell and walked away, laughter shaking their broad, letterman jacket wearing backs. "I can't believe it's already starting."

Rachel leaned in toward her locker, laying her forehead against the cool metal. She closed her eyes, counted to ten, took a deep breath, and then proceeded to stand tall. She just needed to get to a bathroom. She could salvage her first day if she could find a bathroom before any other jock or cheerio saw her and attacked while she was vulnerable.

The diva picked up her backpack, praying that she had put an extra shirt in it. After securing the straps on her shoulders, she walked briskly in the direction of a bathroom nearby. She rounded a corner with her eyes on the ground, hoping to hide the fact that she had gotten a slushy facial. As she turned she felt a warm body running into her own.

"Oh I apologize profusely. I was not watching where I was going. You see, it hasn't been the most ideal morning so far and…"

"You got blue shit on my shirt," was said in disgust. In front of her stood the three intimidating cheerios who ruled the school.

"Santana?" Rachel looked up for the first time, surprised. "I can honestly say you are probably the worst person for me to run into at this specific time in my life. I am in search of a bathroom and I don't want any more misfortune to befall me, so I'll be on my way now," Rachel rambled. "And I do apologize for spreading my problems on to you and your shirt."

"Can it, Berry. You're ridiculous, but I doubt you'd slushy yourself. Or... did you?" Rachel huffed at this, causing the Latina to laugh.

"I most certainly did not."

"Oh, this is too great," came from Santana's right. Quinn Fabray stood in the middle of the trio with a huge smirk on her face. "You're blue, RuPaul." On Quinn's right stood the other blond cheerleader, Brittany, who stared blankly past Rachel. Santana had begun observing the damage done to her own shirt.

"Oh, hello Quinn." Rachel's facial expression was now one of uncertainty with a little bit of fear and sadness mixed into it. The mirth in Quinn's tone at Rachel's blue appearance was not at all surprising to the diva, but she couldn't help but be hurt by it. The diva tried not to let it bring her mood down any more though. "I hope you have had a great morning and an enjoyable summer Quinn. And you too as well Brittany, Santana."

"Please just shut up, Smurf," was Quinn's reply.

"You do talk a lot Rachel," Brittany said.

Rachel's eyes fell to the ground. Even Brittany was putting her down. People must really hate her if the nicest girl in school couldn't find a decent thing to say to her. Brittany always found something good in someone.

"The school day hasn't even started and you're already a mess. I can't believe Finn ever thought you were a better option than me."

"Me and Finn aren't even..." Rachel's eyes began to water. "Good day Quinn," she let out, before releasing a strangled sobbing noise. Quinn bringing up Finn was too much to deal with on top of the terrible morning the diva had already experienced.

"Aww Quinn, you made her cry." Brittany said. The blonde changed directions to follow Rachel into the bathroom.

"Jesus, Preggers. Do you have to start in so early? Brit, wait."

* * *

><p>Santana pushed the bathroom door open to find Rachel bent over a sink and Brittany holding her hair away from her face. Santana looked under the stall doors to make sure no one else was in the room.<p>

"I didn't mean to hurt your feelings Rachel. I don't mind that you talk so much. I just can't always understand what you're talking about. I should introduce you to my cat, Lord Tubbington, some time. He's a great listener."

The Latina cheerleader laughed at this from the doorway, drawing attention to her for the first time. Brittany greeted her with a giant smile, while Rachel's face held a neutral expression. Santana frowned at the redness in the diva's eyes, but quickly looked away.

"Can you just see if I have a spare top in my bag?" Rachel asked Brittany, through her sniffling.

"Sure Rachel." Brittany patted the diva's back a couple times before leaning over to check her bag. "There's nothing in here."

"Of course there isn't." Rachel said. Her voice was taking on a slightly hysterical tone.

"Don't worry. I think I have one in my gym locker." Brittany said quickly, before the diva had a chance to start crying again. "I'll be back in a second," she said softly. "Santana, go help her wash that gunk off her face."

"What? No." Santana had a panicked look on her face. Brittany grabbed her arm and forced her towards Rachel before she left.

Santana held onto the diva's hair, but made no move to do anything more. Rachel made eye contact with the cheerleader in the mirror. Instead of seeing disgust or anger in the Latina's eyes like she expected, Rachel was surprised to see nervousness. "You can leave if you want," the diva said softly. "I'm fine now."

This triggered something in the cheerleader's brain and the nervousness was replaced with her usual attitude. "Listen Berry, I'm doing this for Brittany. She told me to help you get cleaned up, so I'm that's what I'm gonna do. Got it?"

Santana started to brush the diva's long hair out of her face. She felt a shiver run through the body below her, but blamed it on the cold water that the diva was using on her slushied face.

* * *

><p>Soon Rachel began to feel fingers running up and down her back as she bent over the sink. Her face was devoid of any slushy, but she wasn't ready to stand up and lose the comforting touch. She knew it was foolish to dwell on the pleasant feeling left by the cheerleader's fingers. Santana would leave as soon as Brittany reappeared.<p>

Rachel looked up into the mirror to see the Latina with a peaceful expression on her face. She didn't seem to realize she was now softly stroking the diva's back. When Santana noticed wide brown eyes boring into her, she immediately stopped her actions.

"Stay here. I'll get you some towels."

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Why must you question everything Berry?" Santana questioned back in frustration. "And where's Brittany?" Rachel opened her mouth to reply, but one look from the fiery Latina stopped her. "Just come here, Rachel."

The diva smiled softly at the use of her real name while Santana began to gently pat her face dry. "Why are you smiling?" the Latina demanded.

"You called me Rachel." Rachel blushed, looking anywhere but into the Latina's chocolate eyes.

"Don't get used to it. Berry." But the Latina had a small smile on her face. "You know, you should get slushied more often. It really humanizes you."

Rachel pulled away from the paper towels. "Thank you Santana, I'm quite dry now. You can leave. If you see Brittany, I would appreciate if you reminded her that I am still awaiting her presence."

"Oh come on, Berry. I was joking." Rachel just huffed and walked to the other side of the bathroom. "Listen, I wouldn't still be here if I enjoyed you getting bullied. I'd be making a quick run to the gas station before school starts to buy a red slushy."

"Very amusing," the diva stated dryly, before turning away from the Latina.

Santana walked behind Rachel and grabbed her wrist, pulling the diva around to face her. Rachel lost her balance and stumbled into her. The Latina took advantage of the slightly out of breath diva, still in her arms. "I was only joking, _Rachel_." She emphasized the diva's name. "I'm just saying that you're easier to approach when you have blue shit on you. You're normally just so perfect all the time. It's annoying."

Santana looked down at the small girl in her arms. She had never noticed how long her eyelashes were. Or how expressive her big, brown eyes were. She reached down and pushed the diva's bangs behind her ears. Rachel broke out into a huge grin. "What?" The Latina questioned, warily.

"You think I'm perfect?"

"You're impossible." She pulled away from the diva, but was laughing. "Of course that's all you got out of what I said."

"Your words, not mine," the diva said innocently. "How do you think I feel with you cheerleaders and your uniforms? It's like a perfectly manicured army."

"Yeah, the cheerleaders. Not me. If I wore regular clothes, I'd be just like everyone else. You're just so... you. No matter what anyone does, you don't question yourself. Why do you think people slushy you, Rachel?"

"Because I'm annoying and unbearable?"

"No. Well maybe a little." The diva's eyes shot to her, insecurity widening them even more than usual. Santana stepped forward and grabbed the diva's wrist. "Of course I'm joking. Haven't you been listening to me at all? It's because no matter what people do, you still continue to believe in yourself and your dreams. They're jealous. You're gonna be great someday, Rachel." The Latina moved her hand so her palm was resting against the diva's cheek, who unconsciously leaned her face into the warm hand. "And we'll all be stuck in Lima telling our kids about how we knew Rachel Berry before she got so famous." A slight bitterness laced the last sentence and the Latina made to pull her hand away.

Rachel felt Santana pulling away and grabbed the Latina's wrist before she could take a step away. "How can you even think that?" Rachel asked softly.

"I don't think it, I know it. You're so talented Rachel."

"No," Rachel interrupted, "You said 'we'll be stuck here.' I don't believe for one second, Santana Lopez, that you will ever be stuck anywhere you don't want to be."

"Yeah," Santana took a step closer to the diva, staring deep into her eye pools, "why's that?" Rachel was losing her ability to think clearly due to the close proximity of the cheerleader.

"To quote a great mind, 'you're just so... you.'" The Latina chuckled lightly. She was close enough for her breath to hit the lips that Rachel was absentmindedly licking. Brown eyes stared into brown eyes, each girl trying to discover what the other was feeling.

"Hey, Rachel I'm back." Santana pulled away from the diva before Brittany had gotten through the diva's name, her eyes wide in panic. If Brittany noticed anything out of the ordinary, she didn't comment on it. "I am so sorry. I completely forgot about your shirt. I ran into Artie and he gave me a ride on his chair. It was so much fun." Santana winced at the blonde's words and went to look at herself in the mirror, pretending to fix her ponytail.

"It is quite all right Brittany. I appreciate your concern though. Is that the shirt?"

"Oh yeah. Here you go."

"Hey, Britts, that's my shirt." Santana was observing them in the mirror. Rachel held said shirt up and sure enough 'Lopez' was printed on the back above a McKinley logo. "Yeah, that's my practice shirt," she stated, snatching it from Rachel. "You can't wear it. It has my name on it."

"But San, you left it at my house, so I brought it for me. It's the only one I have here." Brittany was pouting at Santana in a way she knew always worked. But Santana was upset after having to hear about Artie and was dead set on saying no to the blonde. That was until she looked at Rachel. Rachel with her big brown eyes, now clearly expressing rejection and disappointment.

"It's fine Santana. I can see why one would be wary of me wearing any apparel with their name on it. Clearly I'm not good for a person's reputation around here," said Rachel. "And really, the stain on my shirt isn't so bad."

"Don't be stupid Rachel. That shirt was bad enough to begin with. And everyone will know what the stain is from." Santana looked to be battling with her self for a moment. "Here." She shoved the white tee into Rachel's arms. "Just don't embarrass me too much in it, ok?" But the Latina didn't wait for a reply. "I gotta go. I have to get to... I just need to go." Then the Latina walked to the bathroom to the door, pausing for one second to look back at Rachel before she was gone.

"What was that all about?" asked Brittany.

"I don't know," but Rachel had a slight smile on her face.

"Maybe Santana forgot to feed the fish in her locker."

"She has a fish in her locker?"

"Doesn't everyone?"

Rachel opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to decide on how to answer. Finally she just settled for, "Thank you for your assistance Brittany. I need to change now," and walked into the nearest stall.


	2. Same day, Different slushy

Thanks for the all the reviews guys! This is my first fanfic so they really do mean a lot. (The emails I get saying someone wants an alert when I update are good too :) So thanks for those) I read through it to fix some things, but after a while it just kind of blurs together, know what I mean? So if you see something that could be improved, just let me know :)

* * *

><p>After the slushy debacle, the rest of Rachel's day was rather uneventful. The classes on the first day back to school were always spent talking about what everyone did over the summer. So really, why not just start the year a day later and spare everyone the monotony? Not that Rachel didn't enjoy talking about herself, she did. She just didn't care to know about all the "kickass" parties her classmates had not invited her to over the summer. And she was sure they felt the same about her own vacation and all the musicals she had attended.<p>

So when lunchtime rolled around, the diva was grateful to be able to sit with her glee club friends. They appreciated the fine art of music. At least Kurt and Mercedes did. Everyone else would at least pretend to be to interested in Rachel's stories for a minute or so, but eventually their eyes would glaze over. The only members of the glee club not present were Santana, Finn, and Quinn. Santana and Quinn still sat with the cheerleaders and jocks. Finn was always changing tables; depending on what girl he was going after that week. He was sitting near Quinn today.

"So tell me again, why you're wearing Satan's shirt?" Kurt asked her. The rest of the table looked up in interest. Rachel huffed in response. She was in the middle of a speech on what the glee club should be focusing on this year. That should have been more important than whatever gossip Kurt thought he could get out of such a miniscule event.

"I already told you and I really don't want to relive it again. I got slushied. It was terrible, just like every other time it's happened. Brittany brought me this shirt. It was the only extra she had. End of story." Rachel said.

"Yep." Brittany smiled from her spot next to Artie. "And it looks great on you Rach. Much better than the argyle sweater from before." Everyone laughed and went back to their previous conversations.

Rachel pretended to listen to Kurt and Mercedes jabber about who had hooked up or broken up over the summer, but she was deep in thought. Was that really the end of the story? She had never seen the nice side of Santana until today.

"Rachel, watch out." Interrupted her thoughts. The diva flinched down in her seat out of habit, expecting a cold slushy to hit her.

* * *

><p>Santana was at her own lunch table, surrounded by a sea of cheerleading uniforms and letterman jackets. The Latina picked at her salad as everyone else talked. She didn't pretend to care about what was going on around her.<p>

"I can't believe you let the dwarf wear your shirt." Quinn said to her. "Her broad shoulders will stretch it out, you know."

"I didn't _let _her do anything. Brittany did. And what do I care, it's just an old t-shirt." She looked over at Rachel talking to Brittany. There was no way Rachel was going to stretch out her shirt. If anything, it was slightly lose around her shoulders. And she missed sitting with Brit. Their table was probably a lot less lame than the one she was currently at, even with Stubbles blocking the aisle with his ugly chair.

"Well I'm embarrassed for you. Everyone can see that it's your shirt. What are they gonna think?"

"That she was digging in my trash? I don't give a shit, ok?"

"No. Why did Brittany used to wear your shirts? Because she spent the night with you. And that's what people will think now." Quinn hissed.

"Well Brittany's not wearing my shirts anymore." Santana snapped. "And maybe that's just where your mind went to. Something you need to talk about Quinn? Been having some Berry centered fantasies?" The Latina questioned with a smirk.

Quinn went red. "What? No. That's disgusting."

"The lady doth protest too much and all that shit." Quinn opened her mouth to reply, but the Latina was looking murderously across the room. "Oh hell no." She said and was off, leaving Quinn to stare angrily at the empty seat where the Latina had been sitting

* * *

><p>Rachel was hunched over in her seat expecting another artificially colored ice bath, but nothing came.<p>

"Watch where your going, caveman." Rachel heard a familiar voice behind her. "I should kick you where the sun don't shine. Look at my shoes, they're ruined."

"Whoa, chill Lopez. You came out of nowhere. I was just going to…" Rachel also recognized the voice of Azimio, the hulking football player who had caused a great deal of misfortune to befall her.

"I'll tell you what you're gonna do. You're gonna turn around and leave. Now."

"Hey, you ran into me."

"And if I ever see you so much as holding a slushy again, I will call the worst slushy attack that this school has ever seen on you." Santana continued as if she hadn't been interrupted. "You clearly can't handle the power."

"You're such a bitch."

"Yay, Santana." Brittany said, clapping, which snapped Rachel out of her daze. She turned around to see the football player kicking a table where the chess team was gathered as he walked away.

* * *

><p>The Latina turned around with a smirk on her face. "Hey Britt." The whole table was staring at her in confusion. Except for two people. Brittany had a huge smile on her face, while Rachel was looking up at her adoringly.<p>

"Thank you very much for your assistance, once again, Santana." The diva said.

"What? No. He ran into me. I was just minding my own business."

"Oh. Well then, may I ask what brought you to our neck of the woods, figuratively speaking?"

"I was just… You know… Looking for a trashcan." The Latina's face brightened at the end of the sentence.

"I see." Rachel smiled knowingly. "Well it seems you've forgotten your trash."

"Oh, yeah." Santana looked down blankly into her empty hands. "I guess you're right."

"Don't be shy, Sanny. You were rescuing Rachel from the slushy! I saw you coming." Brittany said, her smile getting bigger.

"Girl, you were booking it over here pretty fast." Mercedes spoke up. Santana's cheeks turned red.

"It's true," said Kurt.

"Ok, so what?" Santana snapped. "She's wearing my shirt. I can't be having a slushy stained shirt. It's embarrassing. Plus, it's my favorite."

"Well then I appreciate you letting me wear your favorite shirt." Rachel said.

"Uh. Thank Brittany for that, not me. Now excuse me, but I need to go make these shoes presentable."

* * *

><p>"What was that about?" Puck exclaimed once the Latina was out of sight. Lauren shook her head next to him.<p>

"She's lying, Rach." Brittany whispered to the diva. "We have a ton of those shirts from being on the Cheerios. Santana doesn't care about them."

"Well fellow glee clubbers, I must be going. I have to make a quick stop before my next class." Rachel said after hearing Brittany's information.

"Stupid slushy. Stupid shoes. Stupid _girl_." Rachel heard the Latina's ranting as soon as she stepped into the bathroom. "Out." Santana yelled when she heard the door close. "Oh it's you."

"We really must stop meeting like this."

"What do you want?"

"I just thought I should return this morning's favor. It was me that you were saving. I mean you're shirt," the diva hastily corrected, when Santana looked like she was going to argue. "But I benefited all the same."

"Well, I'm glad that you benefited too. My shoes sure as hell didn't."

"Sit down." Rachel pointed to the sink. The Latina hopped up without arguing. "You know, people will only like you more when they find out you have a sweet side." Rachel said softly.

"Santana Lopez is not sweet."

"That's not what I've seen today." The diva said. "You're just a big ol' softy." The Latina scoffed. "Scoff all you want, but it won't change what I think."

"What do you think?" Rachel heard the uncertainty in Santana's voice. "I mean I've always been a total bitch to you. And your friends."

"Yeah, it's true. You have." The Latina tried to stand up but Rachel forced her back down on the sink. "Do you remember that first year in glee club, at regionals? You said that glee club was your favorite part of the day." She grabbed the Latina's hand. "For some reason that always stuck with me. I knew there was more to you than meets the eye." The diva began tracing the lines on Santana's palm. "Clearly your mind is in the right place if you recognize the greatness that is glee." Rachel laughed and Santana released the breath that she had been holding.

"It is my favorite part of the day."

"Why?"

"Well.." The bell for class interrupted the Latina's thought and Rachel dropped her hand.

The diva had a brief internal battle. "I want to hear the rest of this, I really do. But I have never been late for a class and I can't start now. Promise me you'll finish later?"

"Sure. Whatever."

"Great." Rachel smiled, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed the other girl's cheek. Then she quickly turned around to leave, her own cheeks very red.

"I wasn't thinking about the shirt when I pushed Azimio." The Latina was looking at the ground, rather dazed. Her hand was touching her cheek.

"I know." Then the bathroom door closed and Santana was left alone with her thoughts.


	3. Bottled water and a Bonfire

Thanks for the reviews! I tried to make this one a little longer for more Pezberry interaction :). Let me know what you think and if I should continue.

* * *

><p>The next morning found Santana fighting off a yawn as she searched for her Chemistry book. When she found it, she closed the door of her locker and saw Rachel Berry beaming at her.<p>

"Oh shit," she said, jumping back. "You scared me."

"Good morning, Santana. I see that on top of being a softy, you are also a big scaredy cat." Santana scoffed at her.

"I just didn't realize I needed to be on the watch for tiny maniacs jumping out at me."

"I don't think waiting patiently for you to finish what you were doing makes me a 'maniac.'"

"Yeah, yeah, what's up Berry?" Santana asked as she leaned against her locker.

"I believe it's an animated Pixar movie about an old man and his Boy Scout neighbor who travel to an island, by way of a house and many balloons." The diva snorted at her own joke.

"Oh ha ha. I forgot you don't understand normal people talk. I was simply wondering how you were doing on this divine Thursday morning. I trust your drive to school went swimmingly?"

"You're making fun of me." Rachel frowned.

"Oh no. You don't get to make me feel guilty with your big puppy dog eyes. I was _teasing_ you. Friends are allowed to tease each other."

"We're friends?" Rachel was smiling again.

"Damnit Berry. How do you keep getting me to say things I don't mean to say?" Santana asked, looking only mildly annoyed.

"All my friends call me Rachel," the diva pointed out, ignoring the question.

"Not anymore." The diva huffed. "Take it or leave it. Berry." She added, just to irritate the smaller girl.

"Fine, I'll take it. As your friend, I want to return your shirt. I assure you it has been properly cleaned." Rachel said as she unzipped her bag. "Thank you again." She tried to hand the white tee to the taller brunette.

"Why don't you just keep it in your locker. I know Azimio will be too scared to slushy anyone for awhile, but just in case."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. My shoes won't always be there to take the bullet for you." Santana poked the diva in the side. "Plus it's fun seeing Quinn get worked up over you wearing a Cheerio shirt."

"Well I appreciate the thought. Now I must retrieve my Spanish book before first period. I'll see you later?"

"Yep, first day of glee. Can't miss that."

"Great." Rachel smiled brightly. "And thank you again for the shirt." The diva pulled Santana in for a tight hug. "You're a good friend."

"Yeah, no problem." The Latina's reply was muffled by Rachel's neck.

"Well, bye." Rachel left to get her book.

"See ya," Santana said distractedly. All she could think about was how good the diva smelled.

* * *

><p>Santana walked into the choir room later that afternoon to find Rachel giving a pep talk that she had worked on over the summer. Her audience, however, looked anything but inspired. Some were yawning or looking at their phones. Many had broken up into small groups and started conversations.<p>

"Come on Superstar, you've lost the crowd," Santana said to the diva as she grabbed her hand and pulled her to the front row of seats to sit with the rest of the club.

"Hey guys." Brittany smiled at them as they approached. "Who were you just talking to Rachel?"

"She was just practicing speaking in front of people Brit." Santana said before Rachel could start in on her speech again. "For when she has to accept all those Grammys and stuff." She added, smiling at the diva.

"Grammys?" Rachel asked bashfully, swinging the hands that were still linked between them.

"Of course. There's gonna be too many to count."

"Hello ladies." Kurt said as he approached with Mercedes at his side. "What's new?" He raised his eyebrows at Santana and Rachel's hands, but didn't comment. Santana noticed and faked a cough, pulling her hand away from the diva's to cover her mouth. Rachel frowned for half a beat, then turned to her two friends.

"Hello Kurt, Mercedes."

"Are you guys going to Mike's party on Saturday?" Mercedes asked the group. Brittany's face lit up.

"Definitely."

"What about you Rach?" Mercedes asked.

"Oh I don't know. I really don't have anything to wear. And I don't know if Mike would want me there."

"You have to go, girl. The whole clubs gonna be there. It'll be so much fun." Mercedes said to the diva. "And me and Kurt will help you get ready." Kurt turned to them, his eyes wide in excitement.

"Yes. I love a challenge." Santana glared at him.

"Well…" Rachel started.

"Then it's settled," Kurt interrupted, "we'll meet up Saturday afternoon to shop for something for you to wear and then go back to my place to get ready."

"What about you Santana?" Brittany asked her as Mercedes and Kurt planned with the diva. The Latina looked at Rachel getting excited at the prospect of shopping and partying with her friends.

"Yeah," she said slowly, "I'll be there."

* * *

><p>Rachel showed up to the party "fashionably late" with Kurt and Mercedes. Apparently it was good to be late. Her friends also insisted she throw away the veggie tray she had brought, saying it "wasn't cool" to show up to a party with celery. The diva shook her head. She would never understand high school. How could having manners be a bad thing?<p>

The trio walked into Mike's house to see a party in full swing. It was chaos. Half the school seemed to be there, including all the football players and Cheerios. Rachel knew they would be in attendance, but she couldn't help but feel disappointed at seeing her tormentors on a weekend. She looked around for a friendly face and saw a few glee clubbers, including Brittany and Artie, dancing. Well Brittany was whipping her hair around from her spot on Artie's lap and he was mostly just looking up at her in amazement.

"Let's go see where everyone is." Kurt had to yell to be heard over the music. Rachel followed him into the kitchen, with Mercedes in tow. The kitchen was just as packed as the makeshift dance floor. Many of the party goers had congregated near a large keg that was situated in the corner of the room, waiting for their turn to fill up a red plastic cup.

"Chug it. Chug it. Chug it. Oooohhhhh." Rachel looked for the cause of the commotion and found Lauren Zizes drinking copious amounts of beer through a large funnel. Noah was standing by her side looking impressed. She let out a breath of relief at seeing some familiar faces and pushed her way through the crowd to join them.

"I had no idea how crazy it would be tonight." Rachel said as she approached. Lauren wiped the spare drops of beer of her face.

"That was hot babe," Noah said to his girlfriend. "Sup?" He asked Rachel.

"I'm just happy to see someone I know and am friends with." Rachel's eyes were scanning the crowd though.

"Hey guys, can you believe how long the line to the keg is?" Sam held up his empty cup as he joined the small group.

"I know dude." Puck nodded his head in agreement. Then the boys and Lauren began to talk about some sports team, losing Rachel's interest even more.

"I'm just gonna go look for…" But she didn't finish. They weren't listening anyway. Rachel dived back into the crowd, forging her own path back to the room with the music.

"Watch it." Rachel froze at the voice. In her haste to get out of the kitchen she had pushed David Karofskey, Azimio's right hand man. He just shoved a random guy in his proximity away from him, too intoxicated to notice that the diva was the one who ran into him. Rachel sighed with relief and hurried away to the other room.

"Rachel! Dance with me." Brittany grabbed the diva's hand and pulled her onto the dance floor before she had could object. "I'm having so much fun." The blonde yelled as she literally danced circles around the smaller brunette.

"Brittany, stop for a second. You're making me dizzy." Rachel grabbed the blonde's shoulders to stop her movement. Brittany laughed.

"Sorry, Rach. I forgot you're not a very good dancer." Rachel looked offended. "So how are you doing?" She asked the diva whose hands were still holding on to her shoulders. That didn't stop the blonde from dancing though; her body was swaying to the music.

"Good." Rachel was distracted, looking through the sea of faces. Mike and Tina were dancing nearby, but Rachel had no interest in them. "Did Santana decide not to come after all?" She asked, trying to keep a casual tone.

"She's here, why?"

"Oh, you know, just wondering who all from glee came."

"Sure, sure." Brittany gave her a sly smile.

"Where is she?" She ignored the blond's knowing look.

"She said she needed some fresh air. That was a while ago though."

"Now that you mention it, I am feeling claustrophobic. Is it a bit toasty in here?" The diva fanned herself with her shirt. "I should probably go outside, before I start to feel faint." Brittany smiled at her.

"Ok, Rach. Bye," she yelled before turning around to join Mike and Tina. Rachel returned to the kitchen. She remembered seeing a sliding glass door in there.

"Hey girl, want a drink?" Mercedes leaned into Rachel, having already drunk a large amount of alcohol herself.

"Maybe a water. You should probably drink one too." Rachel told the other girl.

"Sam, hey," she yelled to get the blonde boy's attention. "Take her to get some water." She pushed Mercedes into his arms.

"Water's right there," he said pointing to a table behind her. "Great, here." She grabbed two bottles, handed one of them to Sam before he had a chance to leave, then she walked through the glass door before anyone else could stop here.

The air felt cool on the diva's bare arms when she stepped into the dark yard. There was a small bonfire in the distance, but Rachel's unadjusted eyes couldn't make out who was surrounding it. When she was about halfway across the grassy landscape, a loud laugh let her know that Quinn was one of the silhouettes. Rachel looked for a body to match the laugh and found Quinn sitting on Finn's lap, whispering in his ear as he grinned his dopey grin.

This would have made the diva turn right around to go back inside, but she had caught sight of a certain Latina sitting on the opposite side of the fire. Santana was sitting on a square bale of hay, gazing into the flames. In her hand she held one of the red plastic cups from the kitchen. She had yet to notice the approaching diva.

"Hey Santana."

* * *

><p>Santana had been at the party for more than an hour. Everyone else was dancing and drinking, but she was bored. She was still on her first beer and doubted she would get another one anytime soon. Tonight just didn't feel like a good night to be drunk. And who did she have to dance with? Before, it was always her and Brit tearing up the dance floor. Now, if they ever got a chance to, Artie would stare at Santana the whole time in suspicion. It just wasn't worth the trouble.<p>

So for now, she would continue to stare at the fire, surrounded by annoyingly cute couples giggling and cuddling with each other. Well except Finn and Quinn. The Latina was pleased to see they had spent much of the night arguing with each other. She figured something was up when Quinn let out a loud laugh and smacked Finn's shoulder playfully. He just smiled, relieved that the fighting was over. Santana knew better. She had been frenemies with the head cheerleader long enough to know when her laughter was fake.

"Hey Santana." The Latina looked up at Rachel and her jaw dropped.

"Whoa Rach…" Rachel was wearing a deep grey v-neck and black skinny jeans. Her heels added a few inches to her normally small stature.

"Is it too much? It's too much. I knew I never should have let Kurt pick out my outfit. This just isn't my style and I really can't pull it off." The diva was looking down and peeling the label off her water bottle.

"No. No you look great. Amazing really." Santana said, standing up. She was eye to eye with the diva due to the diva's heels. "I should probably be jealous."

"I'm the one who should be jealous," Rachel said in a serious tone, looking deep into the Latina's eyes. Santana sucked in her breath. "I mean," the smaller girl was now whispering and the Latina leaned in closer to hear her, "you get to look at this all night," The diva finished, gesturing to herself and laughing. It took a second for what Rachel said to sink in, but then the Latina was laughing as well.

"You're an asshole, you know that?"

"Oh so you can dish it out, but you can't handle it coming from other people?"

"Oh, I can handle it." Santana winked at the diva, causing her to blush. "Sit with me?" Santana pointed to the makeshift chair of hay.

"Yeah, ok." They sat down with their thighs touching. On both sides of them there was about a foot of available hay. A shy silence had taken over. "Are you having a good time?" Rachel broke the ice.

"Fabulous. Couldn't you tell by the way I was sitting out here alone?"

"Yeah, I know how you feel. I'm expecting someone to throw a cold beverage on me any minute now. Every time I make eye contact with someone in a letterman jacket, I turn and walk in another direction."

"Don't worry. If anyone is looking at you tonight, they're not thinking about slushies. It pains me to say this Berry, but you're hot."

"Really?"

"Really. Like smokin' hot. Even the ice queen is jealous." Santana said, nodding her head towards Quinn.

"I highly doubt that. She and Finn seem to be having a good time."

"They were fighting before. They only started having a "good time" after you got here. I know Quinn. She's trying to make you jealous to cover up her insecurity at you looking better than her tonight. Finnocence is just too dumb to realize it. What happened between you two anyway?"

"It doesn't matter. I didn't go through all the trouble to look this good for Finn tonight."

"So you went for the trouble for someone else?"

"I didn't say that," the diva said quickly, her cheeks going red.

"You didn't have to." The Latina bumped her shoulder into the other girl's. "Berry's got a crush." Santana had adopted a singsong tone.

"Shut up." The diva groaned and covered her face with both hands. Santana laughed and tried to pry Rachel's hands away to no avail. She leaned into the diva.

"We can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way," the Latina whispered into Rachel's ear. The diva's only response was a shiver. "Hard way it is," she added before beginning a tickle attack on the diva's side.

"Ah Santana." The diva jerked away uncontrollably. "Stop. I can't breathe. I can't breathe."

"If you can talk, you can breathe!" The assault continued.

"Oww," the diva yelled. Santana stopped immediately, thinking she had hurt the other girl.

"What is it? Are you ok?" She left her spot on the hay and leaned in front of the smaller girl. The diva turned away from her. "I'm sorry Rachel. I didn't mean to, I swear." She put her hand under the diva's chin and gently pulled it up. When she was finally able to see Rachel's face, she saw a huge smile. "Oh, you bitch." The diva's smile grew bigger.

"Gotcha!" She reached out and messed the Latina's hair up, before jumping up and running across the dark yard laughing. Santana was up and after her in a second.

"You better run fast," she yelled after the diva.

"Crap." Santana saw Rachel fall down ahead of her but was going too fast to stop in time.

"Shit." She toppled over the fallen diva. "I guess I win." Santana smirked, lying on the smaller girl's back. Rachel grunted. She was lying on her stomach in the grass and couldn't move. "Say uncle." Rachel made a muffled noise. "All right. I'm gonna let you turn over so you can say it. No funny business." Santana got up a little bit to give the diva room to maneuver. As soon as she was able to turn around the diva had them flipped around. "How the hell did you just do that?" the Latina demanded. She was now the one in the grass and the diva was straddling her. The diva leaned forward, her hair surrounding Santana's head.

"Looks like I win," she whispered into the Latina's ear. "You know, I didn't imagine that this is how it would be the first time I got you underneath me." The Latina gasped loudly. Rachel leaned back, laughing hysterically.

"Jesus Berry, you gotta stop messing with me. I don't know if I can take much more."

"You should've seen your face," the girl got out between laughs, "that was priceless."

"Hilarious. Now can I get up please?" Rachel leaned forward, looking serious again, until their faces were about a foot apart.

"You never said uncle."

"Get a room." Someone yelled. The two girls had been in their own world and had completely forgotten about the party going on around them. Santana's eyes grew wide.

"Get off me," she said, pushing the diva off of her. Santana stood up, leaving Rachel on the ground. She looked around for the voice that had yelled at them. It was just some drunken idiot who had already moved on to another distraction. Nobody else seemed to have even noticed the two girl's antics. She sighed in relief. "Sorry about that Rach." She turned back to the smaller girl to help her up.

Rachel was holding her wrist and had tears welling up in her eyes. "What happened? Are you ok?" Rachel got up using her uninjured arm.

"I'm fine," she snapped. "No thanks to you."

"I didn't mean to hurt you Rachel." The Latina was getting defensive.

"Oh yes," Rachel let out a joyless laugh, "I always push my friends on the ground because I'm embarrassed by them. But they don't mind because I'm doing it out of love." The diva's voice had gotten steadily higher pitched as she talked. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go inside. Maybe I'll find Kurt and push him down the stairs to thank him for helping me get ready." The diva stormed off towards the house.

"Rach, wait." The diva ignored her, pulling open the glass door, and then slamming it shut behind her. "Shit."


	4. Toilet Paper Tomfoolery

Your reviews are my smiles! And so are the emails I get for story alerts. Thank you everybody who is still reading. This was definitely my favorite chapter to write. When I started this chapter I fully planned on continuing this story, but I'm not sure now. Let me know if you like it :)

* * *

><p>Rachel slammed the glass door shut behind her and walked into the slightly less packed kitchen.<p>

"Whoa babe, what's the problem?"

"Nothing," Rachel snapped at Puck. When he looked offended she softened. "I apologize Noah, it just hasn't been the most ideal night."

"It's cool. Why don't you let the Puckasaurous get you a drink?" He smirked when the girl rolled her eyes. "We can take a shot," He added hopefully.

"That actually sounds like a brilliant plan."

"That's what I'm talking about." Noah led Rachel around a group of people to a table full of various bottles of alcohol. "What's your poison?" Rachel looked at him blankly. "Never mind." He poured two shots of a clear liquid. Rachel slid them both across the table towards herself. "Uh, one of them was supposed to be for me."

"You don't think I can handle them?" Rachel demanded. The boy just raised his eyebrows and poured two more shots for himself.

"They're all yours." He held up one of the small glasses. "Cheers." He clinked glasses with the diva and they each took a shot. He laughed when she began coughing.

"Oh shut up Noah."

"Here, a chaser." Noah twisted the cap off a Smirnoff and handed it to the girl. She downed her other shot and immediately took a drink of the Smirnoff. Her eyes got wide.

"That's delicious. Why weren't we drinking that before?"

"The other stuff makes you feel better, faster." He winked at Rachel.

"Yeah? One more then."

"I don't know Rach. You should probably wait a few for what you already drank to kick in."

"Just one more. How much damage can such a tiny amount do?" When he still looked uncertain the diva added, "I'll take it with or without it. Your choice."

"Just one more? Then you're done?" The diva nodded. "Alright." He poured a shot for himself and the girl.

"Whoo," the diva said and drank the shot. Then she took a drink of her Smirnoff. "Now it feels like a party." She said, louder than normal. Then she noticed Lauren approaching.

"Lauren!" The diva tapped the other girl on the nose. "Boop."

"Uh, hey Berry," she said slowly. "C'mon babe, I just heard someone say there were s'mores outside."

"Alright, hold on a sec." Noah turned to Rachel. "You gonna be ok?"

"Yeah." Rachel laughed and pushed his shoulder. "Why wouldn't I be? I feel great. I'm gonna go find Britt and show her how well I really can dance." Noah laughed.

"Alright. Just make sure you find Brittany or another glee kid before you do anything else, ok?"

"Yeah, sure." Rachel turned and walked away, stopping to hold onto the doorway for a second before continuing into the other room.

* * *

><p>Santana was pacing in the dark yard. She would make a move to walk inside, stop herself, then turn around and begin pacing again. Finally she settled for going back to the fire, but this time she was glaring at its flames.<p>

"Trouble in paradise?" Quinn was smirking at her from across the fire.

"I could ask you the same thing. Not all cuddly and cute with Finn now that Rachel is gone." Quinn laughed at her.

"Finn just went to get a drink, that's all. And at least I wasn't being cuddly and cute withBerry, like you. That's just disturbing."

"Aw, you think we're cute? Thanks Quinn!" The Latina had a huge, fake smile on her face.

"Whatever, Santana." Quinn got up to leave, but looked back at the Latina with pity in her eyes. "Don't make the same mistake you made with Brit." Santana opened her mouth, looking rather confused, but the head cheerleader was already walking away. Santana settled for glaring at the fire again.

"This is bullshit. Where the hell are the s'mores I was promised?" Zizes and Puck had taken over the seat where Quinn had been sitting.

"I'm sorry babe. Who told you about them? I can kick someone's ass." Lauren laughed.

"Please Puckerman. If anyone will be kicking someone's ass tonight, it's me."

"You are so hot." Puck leaned in to initiate a make out session. Santana was relieved when Zizes pushed him away. She hadn't drank tonight, so she earned the right to not throw up. "Not so fast, Romeo. " Puck's face fell. "There'll be more privacy when we go back to your car." He was smiling again.

"Alright."

"So what the hell was up with Berry?" Lauren asked. Santana leaned forward at the mention of Rachel, suddenly interested in the conversation. Noah laughed.

"Girl's a lightweight." Santana furrowed her eyebrows. Rachel wasn't drinking and they hadn't even been separated an hour. "She came in all angry and wanted to take some shots, so we did."

"She's lucky I didn't break her arm after tapping my nose like that. That shit doesn't fly with the Ziz." Santana had heard enough. She went to go find Rachel before the diva did something stupid.

* * *

><p>In the kitchen one of the tables had been turned into a beer pong table. Santana scanned the crowd of drunken teens surrounding it and yelling, but Rachel wasn't there. So she followed the sound of music into the other room. The dance floor was much less crowded now and the music wasn't nearly as loud as it had been earlier in the night. Many people had paired up and were making out on couches or had found a more private place upstairs.<p>

Rachel wasn't dancing and that worried the Latina. Everyone was either dancing, drinking in the kitchen, cuddling by the bonfire, or hooking up. The Latina was surprised when her heart tightened. She had checked all but one of those options.

She scanned the room for a glee clubber to see if they knew where the diva was. Mike and Tina were slow dancing, even though the Kesha song playing called for a much faster pace. Brit was making out with Artie from her spot on his lap and Mercedes and Kurt were slumped together on a couch, giggling. Santana made her way over to the giggling duo to see what they knew, when she noticed they were pointing at something. She followed their fingers and immediately saw red.

"What the hell, Berry?" Santana yelled at the smaller girl as she grabbed the diva's forearm and yanked her off a nameless guy in a letterman jacket.

"Back off Lopez, you're being a cock block," said the dumb jock.

"Yeah, Lopez," Rachel drawled, "you're being a.. Wait." She looked at the boy and scrunched her nose in disgust.

"Blocking isn't the only thing I'm gonna be doing to your dick if you don't shut the hell up." The boy paled. Santana ignored him and turned to Rachel who was looking between the Latina and the boy who was still sitting on the couch. "Come on, Berry." The Latina grabbed Rachel's arm again and began dragging her outside, this time through the front door. She didn't stop until they were at the end of the driveway.

"Santana Lopez, unhand me this minute." The diva's voice held an almost unnoticeable slur.

"Why, so you can go back in there and what? Do it with some random football player?" Santana was still livid. Rachel looked offended.

"Do _it_? If you're referring to sex, then no, that's not what I'm going to do nor what I ever intended to do." Rachel was speaking clearer. The shock of being pulled around by Santana mixed with her anger at the girl was sobering her up. "We were simply talking," she added loftily.

"Talking?" Santana snorted. "I should have gotten a couple of shots in you earlier if this is how you 'talk' when you've been drinking." The Latina blushed at this slip, but Rachel didn't seem to realize that Santana had basically said she wanted to make out with her.

"I was perfectly fine with _actually_ talking to you earlier. You're the one who freaked out. You're the one who pushed me."

"So you went inside to make out with one of those idiots?" Santana asked, sounding a little desperate as she gesture towards Mike's house.

"And you're so much better than them?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I am. I'm not gonna be throwing slushies on you once the weekend is over. And I'm not gonna sit by and laugh if someone else does. Can those people say the same?" The Latina had started out yelling, but ended with a softer tone.

"Probably not," the diva admitted. "Do you think I don't know that? They'll throw slushies. Brittany will take pity on me and you'll be stuck helping, even though you're embarrassed to be seen with me."

"Damnit Rachel!" Santana kicked a trashcan near the street. "It's not you I'm ashamed of!" She stopped yelling and looked at the diva, who was staring at her with eyes wide. "Listen, I'm sorry if I drove you to do something you'll regret tonight." The Latina grabbed Rachel's hands. "I'm an idiot, ok? I always do this to people. Look at me. My only friend besides Brittany is Quinn and we hate each other. I'm fucked up." She tried to pull her hands away, but Rachel held on to them tightly and then pulled Santana closer, wrapping her in a tight hug.

"There's nothing wrong with you." She spoke quietly into the Latina's ears. Santana relaxed into the hug, but didn't hug back. "You have nothing to be ashamed of. You're smart, funny, gorgeous, and you can charm anyone if you put your mind to it. And you have friends. I'm your friend. And I know everyone in the glee club will love you when you show them the side of you that I keep getting glimpses of." Rachel pulled out of the hug a little bit to look at Santana's face. "Now perk up!" She pinched the Latina's cheek, earning a small smile. Rachel pushed the Latina's hair behind her ear. "And you could probably take over the world using just your smile," the diva added in awe.

"You really are an amazing person." Santana was looking at the diva intensely. "Don't let anyone tell you different." Rachel smiled at her.

"Thank you, Santana. I won't."

"This party is lame. Let me drive you home?"

"Yeah. I'd like that." They separated from the hug. Santana led Rachel to her black SUV and opened the passenger door for her before going around to the other side.

* * *

><p>Rachel was surprised to be in the Latina's car after all that had happened that night. If you had asked her a half hour ago, she would have said that she had no intention of even speaking to Santana Lopez for the rest of the night. She was distracted from her thoughts when she saw an orange glint out of the corner of her eye.<p>

"Oohh gimme," the diva said, snatching the Latina's iPod nano. Santana smiled at her.

"Don't complain when you don't like my music. And I'm gonna need directions."

"All music is beautiful Santana." She looked down at the iPod. "Well, almost all of it." Santana laughed and started the car. "Oh wait." Music filled the car. "Why am I surprised that you have this song?" It was Bubbly by Colbie Caillat. "You just keep reinforcing my suspicions that you're a big softy."

"I don't know how that got in there. Someone must have stolen my iPod to put adorably sweet songs in there." Rachel laughed before beginning to sing along to the chorus.

"It starts in my toes and I crinkle my nose." She tapped Santana's nose causing the Latina to smile. "Where ever it goes I always know that you make me smile." She pinched the other girl's cheek again. Santana smacked her hand away.

"Alright Superstar, point me in the right direction." The diva stopped singing and turned to her, frowning.

"Are you ready to go home? I was all set for a great night, but that party was a disappointment. Let's do something fun!" She said.

"Fun you say?" The Latina wiggled her eyebrows up and down at her. "Like what?" Rachel laughed at the girl's antics. "Never mind, I've got an idea," she said excitedly and pulled her car out onto the street.

"What?" Rachel quickly asked.

"You'll see."

They drove without speaking for a few minutes, low music filling the car. Santana pulled into a gas station and parked the car. "Stay here." She smiled at Rachel and got out of the car. Rachel took the two minutes that Santana was gone to peruse her music collection again. When she looked up from the orange device she saw the Latina walking across the small parking lot, balancing two large plastic cups on a big square package. The Latina opened up the door to the back seat and threw the package in. Rachel realized it was a twelve pack of toilet paper.

"Oh, no. This does not look like the start of a good idea." Santana ignored her.

"Grape slushy, m'lady." She handed Rachel the drink. The diva took it but looked at it uncertainly. "I didn't poison it, I promise."

"It's not the slushy I'm afraid of. I don't want to give you any encouragement. I have suspicions that you didn't purchase all that toilet paper for personal use."

"No, it's for personal use." Santana smiled slyly over at the diva. "I'm personally going to toilet paper the trees and bushes around Azimio's house."

"Oh no. No, no, no, no, no. We can't do that."

"Sure we can." Santana started the car.

"I want no part of this tomfoolery."

"Eh. Think it over."

* * *

><p>Santana parked her car on a dark side street in the middle of town and turned to face Rachel.<p>

"Moment of truth Berry."

"I'm afraid that I can't help you in your debauchery. I don't have the proper footwear." The diva smiled in triumph.

"I guess it's a good thing that my Cheerios practice gear is in the trunk, tennis shoes and all." She laughed as Rachel's face fell. "Anything else?"

"I…Uh… No."

"Great, let's go."

Rachel followed the Latina to the back of the black SUV. Santana began pulling stuff out of a white and red sport's bag. She handed the diva a pair of shoes and went to get the container of toilet paper, which she ripped open. Then she filled the empty bag up with rolls of toilet paper.

"You ready?" Santana threw the bag over her shoulder.

"I can't say that I am," the diva answered. The Latina grabbed her hand.

"C'mon. I won't let you get caught." She walked into the shadows of trees, pulling the diva along behind her. After a few minutes of walking they stopped in front of a white two-story house. "This is it," Santana whispered to the other girl.

"Wait, what if someone is home?" Rachel whispered back.

"There's no car in the driveway, all the lights are off, and Azimio is passed out on the floor of Mike's living room. I think it's safe." Santana gave the other girl's hand a squeeze before letting it go. "Just make sure to stay into the shadows as much as possible." She opened her bag and handed Rachel two rolls of toilet paper before grabbing two for herself. "Now watch a pro." The Latina took a few steps back and tossed the roll in a perfect arch over the tree.

"How did you do that?" Rachel demanded. Santana stood behind her and grabbed her hand. The diva froze. "Remember to hold onto the end of it," she said pinching Rachel's fingers around the paper, "then just toss it as high as you can over the tree." She mimicked tossing it up, then stood back to let Rachel try.

"O-Ok," the girl said looking away from the girl who had just been so close to her. She tried what Santana had showed her, but the paper only went to about the second lowest branch. "I suck."

"No, that was a good first try," the Latina assured her, running over to where the roll fell and unrolling the rest of it across the yard. "Just keep practicing." Rachel tried again and this time it was almost as good as Santana's.

"Nice." The Latina threw her some more rolls and then headed up closer to the house. She began papering the bushes and flowers by the porch while Rachel worked on another tree. The Latina covered all the plants around the house and began to work her way back to the street where Rachel was. The diva looked up and gaped. While she had done one tree, the Latina had wreaked havoc on the rest of the yard.

"Oh my god." Rachel started giggling. Santana grinned at her.

"I know. It's beautiful." She laughed along with the other girl, until she noticed that the diva's look changing to horror. The Latina froze for one second before slowly turning around. The porch light had been turned on. "Run," she whispered. The diva wasted no time turning in the direction of the car and sprinting. Santana was right on her heels.

Then to the Latina's horror she heard a door opening behind then. Out of instinct, she tackled the diva in front of her. They fell behind a long row of bushes on the edge of the victim's yard. On the other side of them was a line of bushes from another lawn. Santana had fallen on top of the diva and they were now lying face to face, hidden in the shadows.

"God damnit!" A man's voice yelled out. Rachel gasped, her eyes wide with fear. Santana clasped her hand over the diva's mouth. She leaned forward and whispered into the scared girl's ear.

"We just have to be quiet and we'll be fine." Rachel nodded, but Santana kept her hand in place. They heard crunching nearby and a man grumbling. Santana leaned down as far as she could, burrowing her face into the diva's hair. "Sshh," she let out so quietly that the diva could barely hear it. The man walked around the yard for a few minutes, letting out curse words every few steps.

"Oh honey, come back in the house." They heard a woman yelling from the porch. "It's too late to deal with this and you know whoever did it is long gone. It was just some stupid boys playing a prank." The footsteps were retreating.

"Yeah, you're right. I wonder who your son pissed off this time." The wife laughed.

"_My_ son? Everything about his troublemaking ways screams your genes." It was the husband's turn to laugh.

"Yeah and you love it."

"I really do."

Then they heard the door slam close. Santana let out a huge breath into the diva's hair, where her face was still situated. She moved her hand away from the diva's mouth, but nuzzled her nose even farther into the diva's hair. "You smell good." Her soft whispers tickled the thin hairs on the diva's neck. "Let's just stay put for a minute or two, make sure they're really gone." Rachel nodded, her breathing a little heavy and her eyes closed. "You know, this isn't how I imagined it would be the first time I got you underneath me," Santana said to the diva as she propped herself up on her elbows. Rachel's eyes shot open.

"Hmm, why does that sound familiar?" She asked, laughing and poking the Latina's side. Santana just smiled softly down at her. "Should we make our escape now?"

"Let's do this."

* * *

><p>Rachel followed Santana as she army crawled her way to the end of the bushes. When Santana got to the opening she got up, but stayed in a crouched position. The Latina scanned the street for angry homeowners before turning back to the diva, still hidden in the bushes.<p>

"Let's get out of here." She held out her hand to Rachel. As soon as Rachel was up, the Latina was pulling her across the street into the shadows of some trees. "We should keep on the down low just in case." Then they began the trek back to the SUV. When they got a few blocks away, the diva began laughing uncontrollably.

"How were you so fast? I looked away for two seconds and you had that yard covered." Santana laughed with her.

"Practice makes perfect, I guess."

"I can't believe how much fun I had. What a rush. Who knew engaging in such juvenile behavior could be so satisfying." She stopped and turned to the Latina. "You're a bad influence."

"Yeah, yeah. You love it." Santana pulled the diva forward.

When they got to the car, the Latina opened the door for the shorter girl again. Then she threw the empty sports bag into the back and got into the driver's seat. Rachel had grabbed her iPod again, but Santana snatched it away from her.

"Hey!" But the diva stopped her protests when she heard what song was playing. Santana didn't say anything as she started the car, but Rachel was beaming at her. Colbie Caillat's Bubbly was filling the car.

"To the Berry residence?" the Latina asked.

"Yeah, I probably should be getting home. It's getting awfully late." The diva sounded a little disappointed by that fact.

"Alrighty." They took a small detour of around three blocks to inspect their work. "You even heard the parents, they blamed Azimio." Santana was laughing at the mess that was now the Azimios' front yard. "He's gonna come home tomorrow, hung over as hell, and have to clean all that up." Rachel giggled along.

"I will admit, a primal part of me feels great getting some revenge for all the slushies and bullying."

When they pulled up to the diva's house, neither girl really felt like ending the night.

"You know what Berry? This has been the most fun I've had in a long time."

"Yeah, me too."

"You can't tell anybody about this though."

"This again Santana? If you don't want anyone to know you're hanging out with me, then just don't." Rachel snapped at the girl.

"What? No." Santana grabbed the diva's hand and held it tightly between her own two. "I just mean about the toilet papering. You know how fast stuff spreads. Even Brit would think it was funny and tell a couple friends. Then in two hours everyone would know we did it. I don't want Azimio to have an even bigger target on you because of me."

"Oh."

"But I don't care if people know I was with you tonight. You can tell them we went to Build-A-Bear for all I care. How I can I be embarrassed by you? After tonight, you're a certified badass." Rachel blushed.

"I apologize for assuming the worst-"

"No need. I deserved it. Come on, I'll walk you to the door." Santana met Rachel on the passenger side of the door and held out her hand. The diva intertwined their fingers and they began walking up the pathway to the house.

"So Build-A-Bear, huh?" Rachel laughed as the Latina blushed.

"I don't know why my mind went there." They had made it to the front door of the Berry house.

"Is Santana Lopez hiding a stuffed animal army in her bedroom?" She smiled as Santana turned an even darker shade of red.

"Not an army."

"No?" Rachel was enjoying watching the taller girl struggle with her embarrassment.

"No. They're peaceful creatures. They want love just like anyone else." Rachel laughed.

"You're adorable."

"No, you're adorable. I'm sexy." The Latina's confidence was back.

"You can be both."

"Oh. Well then I'm both." Santana smirked at the shorter girl.

"And so modest too." Rachel bumped her shoulder into the other girl's.

"I know. I'm just the complete package." Santana winked at the shorter girl. They had made it to the diva's front porch and were standing in front of the door. "You've got a few things going for you too."

"Yeah? Like what?" Rachel ducked her head down, suddenly shy.

"Well, this house is pretty big. It couldn't have been cheap." Rachel gasped.

"Gold-digger!" She pushed the Latina's shoulder. Santana didn't know what came over her. She could blame it on the left over adrenaline from earlier that night, but really it was the way Rachel's eyes were lighting up as she playfully hit her. She grabbed the diva's arm as she went to push her and pulled Rachel against her body. Rachel gasped again, this time more subdued. "What are you doing?" The diva asked, her voice low as Santana nuzzled into her neck.

"I don't know. I just… I've never seen this side of you. I think I really like it." She leaned back to look into the diva's eyes. Rachel began leaning in towards her, when the porch light turned on. The diva jumped back again, but the Latina was still holding on to her. "Porch lights are going to be the death of me, I swear."

"Mine too." Rachel released a sigh. "My dads must have heard your car pull up." Rachel was looking at the Latina unsurely. "I should probably go inside." Santana released the girl from her grasp.

"Yeah, yeah ok. Well I guess I'll see you later."

"Goodnight." The diva had turned to the door.

"Wait." Santana walked until her body was pressed against Rachel's, not giving the other girl any space to turn around. The diva's head shot sideways as she sucked in her breath. Santana brushed her hair away from her face and leaned in, her lips ghosting over the diva's cheek. Rachel's eyes fluttered shut. "Goodnight Rach," she whispered before backing away. By the time the diva opened her eyes the Latina was walking away.


	5. Rupaul and Raindrops

Hey, thanks for the reviews! They really are the best motivation for continuing a story. Sorry, this one is a little short. Also, I'm not really sure if I want to continue it. I might scrap it and start a new one or something. But let me know if you like it.

* * *

><p>Santana walked into McKinley on Monday morning sporting a huge smile and two slushies. Whenever the other students caught sight of what she had in her hands, they would suddenly have to go to the bathroom and veer off in another direction. Or in Jewfro's case, just completely turn around and run. She knew all the students thought she was a bitch, but she couldn't help laughing at their reactions. Except for when she walked up to Rachel.<p>

"Yo, Superstar." Rachel turned around, saw the slushies in her hand and flinched, closing her eyes tightly. "What the hell Berry?" Rachel's eyes flew open again. "Did you think I was going to slushy you?" Rachel shook her head no, but looked uncertain.

"Santana it was just instinct-"

"Instinct to cower in fear when I come near you?" The Latina was going for anger, but just sounded hurt.

"No, that's not it. I just…"

"Just what?" Santana demanded.

"Well what do you want me to say? Past experience tells me that when someone approaches me with a slushy, I'll be wearing it soon." Rachel looked down at her hands, saddened by that fact.

"But not when I approach you!"

"It was force of habit. Why are you getting so angry?" Rachel was getting a little irritated as well.

"Clearly you don't think very well of me," Santana said stiffly.

"It's not like that and you know it. Plus, if I recall correctly, it was you and the Cheerios that started all the slushy attacks on me in the first place. You have no right to be angry."

"Me and the Cheerios." The brunette cheerleader gave a dry laugh. "I forgot, I'm just another uniform in the perfectly manicured army."

"You're taking everything the wrong way" Rachel reached to touch the Latina's arm, but the other girl pulled away.

"Because there's not a right way to take them." Santana had to force herself to stay quiet. "For the record, I got the slushies for you. Not to throw at you. I just thought it would feel good to have ammunition in case someone wanted to mess with you. I didn't realize that I would be the one you wanted protection from." The Diva opened her mouth to respond, but Santana had turned to walk away, running right into an innocent bystander. The Latina pretended like she was going to throw a slushy on the freshman girl, who froze in fear. "Move!" But she didn't wait for the girl to react. She was slamming the two slushies into a trashcan at the end of the hall by the time the younger girl had let out a breath of relief.

* * *

><p>Rachel found it extremely irritating that when Santana used to be one of the students who terrorized her, she was everywhere. Now when the diva actually wanted to find her, the Latina was nowhere to be seen. She didn't understand what she had said to upset the brunette cheerleader so much. Rachel couldn't help her reaction to the sight of slushies. And it was simply fact that the cheerleaders were the ones who started the slushy attacks on her.<p>

Rachel caught sight of the Latina talking to Brittany after third period and called out to her. Santana turned her head slightly when she heard her name, but ignored it and went back to talking to the blonde girl. Brittany looked at Rachel and frowned, but continued her conversation with the Latina. When Santana turned around and began walking with Brittany in the diva's direction, Rachel thought she'd have a chance to talk some reason into her. But Santana walked past her without making eye contact, while her best friend gave the diva a sad smile.

Rachel returned Brittany's smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. She finished at her locker and walked to the choir room. She had a free period and she usually spent it practicing her vocals in the empty room. Halfway through the solo she was working on, she thought of a plan. Rachel left the school and went to buy two slushies before lunch could start. She figured Santana would forgive her for whatever it was she did, if she replaced the slushies from earlier.

"Hey, Santana." She had caught up to the Latina right before lunch. As usual, she was with Quinn and Brittany. "I got you a-"

"Do you need something, Rupaul?" Santana asked coldly. Quinn laughed.

"Santana!" Brittany gasped. But Rachel didn't stick around to hear any more. With tears filling up her, she turned and ran away from the lunchroom. "Go after her." She barely heard Brittany tell Santana.

"Why should I?"

* * *

><p>The Latina regretted what she said to the diva immediately, but she didn't take it back. Santana Lopez didn't apologize to anyone. But her heart did tug at the sight of tears in the other girl's eyes. So she did what she did best, ignored the feelings before they could get too deep. When Rachel avoided her for the rest of the week, she avoided her right back, despite Brittany scolding her for the childish behavior. Still, she couldn't help sending glares Finn's way when he starting sitting by the diva on Wednesday.<p>

"Mr. Schue, can I sing something I've been practicing this week?" Rachel asked during Glee club on Thursday.

"Uh, sure Rachel. I guess we'll continue the meeting afterwards." Quinn rolled her eyes from her spot next to Santana, but the Latina's eyes were drawn to the diva.

"It's not surprising it could end like this." Rachel was looking everywhere but at Santana. "Your eyes are open even when you kiss. You're so distant. So cold, so resistant." Suddenly her eyes met the Latina's. Santana gulped. "You see the world in only gray and black. Now how can anybody live like that, without screaming, without dying for dreaming?" For the rest of the performance, the Latina's eyes were glued to the floor.

"Very good, Rach!" Mr. Schue said enthusiastically when the song was finished. Everybody else, aside from Quinn and Santana, clapped loudly. Brittany threw in a loud "Whoop" and pumped her fist in the air.

"Thank you." Rachel blushed and sat back down. Santana didn't participate in the rest of the meeting.

* * *

><p>It was pouring rain when the Latina walked through the almost empty parking lot after glee. When she drove back past the school, she saw Rachel standing in front of it, with her coat pulled over her head. She planned on driving past the diva, she really did.<p>

"Do you need a ride?" She yelled as she rolled her window down. She couldn't have the other girl getting sick. It was for the sake of glee club, really. Rachel looked up in surprise from underneath the hood of her coat. Then her expression hardened.

"Not from you."

"You're gonna get sick Rachel."

"Oh, I'm Rachel again?"

"Only if you get in the car."

"Then it looks like I'll stay Rupaul. I'm not going anywhere with you." Santana sighed and got out of the SUV. The only thing she was wearing was her Cheerio's uniform.

"I don't know why I called you that. I guess I was mad at you. Or maybe myself. It just came out."

"Because it was what you're used to calling me." Rachel laughed humorlessly. "Just like I'm used to flinching at cheerleaders with slushies."

"It's not… Yeah, you're right. I'm an asshole."

"Yes you are." Santana glared for a second, then looked like she wanted to cry.

"Can you just let me drive you home?"

"Why? So I can get my hopes up just to feel like shit in two days. No way."

"Just… Are you gonna make me say it?"

"Say what?" Rachel still sounded pissed.

"I'm sorry! I felt like shit all week too. And you didn't seem to really care. Why are you sitting with Finn again?"

"Finn?" Rachel shrieked. "What does Finn have to do with this?"

"He only wants you when he can't have you. As soon as you get back together he'll want Quinn again."

"At least I know what to expect with him," Rachel turned to walk back into the building. Santana grabbed the diva's wrist.

"Just wait a second." Rachel pulled her wrist away and turned around.

"For what?" Santana grabbed the other girl's face and crashed their lips together. When Rachel gasped, the Latina took advantage of it and lightly swiped her tongue across the inside of the diva's upper lip. Rachel moaned and kissed her back, causing Santana to push her body against the other girl's. After a few seconds, the Latina pulled away and rested her forehead on the other girl's, her fingers playing with Rachel's hair.

"Always knowing what to expect makes life boring," she whispered against the diva's moist lips.

"Are you going to push me away again?" Rachel whispered back. Santana pulled back and looked into the diva's eyes.

"Literally?" The Latina chuckled, but the other girl was frowning.

"And figuratively."

"I might." When Rachel opened her mouth angrily, the Latina rushed to continue. "You wanted honesty. Pushing people away is what I do. I can't change overnight."

"If you ever, ever call me Rupaul or Manhands again, I'll-"

"I won't," Santana said quickly. "I can promise that much." The diva gave her a small smile, then noticed that she was shivering.

"You're the one who's going to be sick." Rachel ran her fingers through the Latina's now completely soaked hair.

"Will you let me drive you home?" The diva smiled at the Latina's stubbornness.

"Ok."

"Then it was worth it." Santana pulled the shorter girl to the SUV.

* * *

><p>Once again, Rachel found herself in Santana Lopez's car when it was the last place she expected to be. Now that the Latina had gotten Rachel to get in the car, she didn't seem to know what to do. Santana fumbled with the radio and tapped her fingers on the steering wheel nervously as she drove.<p>

"Finn asked me out for Saturday night." Rachel was looking down and playing with her fingers.

"Yeah?" The Latina asked casually.

"Yeah."

"Well you shouldn't go." Santana tried to keep her tone light. "You can do better than Finnessa."

"Maybe so, but I don't have anything better planned."

"Are you hinting at something?" The Latina teased, looking over at the blushing diva.

"What would I be hinting at," Rachel asked nonchalantly, looking anywhere but at Santana.

"Well, just… Cancel with Finn." Santana was suddenly nervous. "We can do something." She added quickly.

"Are you asking me out?" The diva was the one teasing now.

"No!" Santana's face had gone red. Rachel's face fell. "I mean, I want to hang out, I do. Can we please just call it hanging out?" Santana asked, sounding slightly desperate. They had just pulled up to the diva's house.

"Sure," Rachel said softly. Then she added more abruptly, "Then it's settled. Saturday night, we will 'hang out.'" The Latina blushed at the way the diva said hang out. "Now I must go work on my homework before my fathers get home. Thank you for the ride." Santana chuckled at the change in tone.

"No problem, Rach."

"And tomorrow, you won't call me anything but Rachel or Berry?" The diva looked vulnerable as she stared at Santana through her long eyelashes.

"No nicknames, scout's honor." The Latina was smiling at her.

"Well then, goodbye Santana." Rachel leaned in and gave her a small hug before getting out of SUV and running towards the house. Santana rolled down her window

"Bye, Superstar," she yelled. "That's the only one I swear." Rachel was already to her door, but she looked up and waved. Santana swore she saw a smile too.

* * *

><p>If I do continue, the next chapter will be whatever Santana has planned for them on Saturday. Review if you're still interested in this story.<p> 


	6. Trail Mix & Movie Talk

Wow! I'm surprised by (and grateful for) all the reviews that last chapter got

Thank you all so much for reading and letting me know how you feel about it. It really does mean a lot to me that people are reading this and actually care about what happens. And I'm glad you like Santana :)

* * *

><p><em>Ding Dong<em>. Rachel looked at the clock in her room and let out an "eek" of excitement. Santana had told her to dress casually and be ready by seven, but much to the diva's frustration, hadn't given her any information past that. She checked her hair in the mirror one last time, before running down the stairs to the door. Once there, she stopped and composed herself before slowly opening the door. Santana was playing with her hands, but looked up at the door opening and smiled.

"Hey Rach."

"Hello Santana, how are you doing this evening?"

"I'm ok. How are you? Ready to go?"

"I'm great. Now if I only knew where we were going-"

"Nope. Nice try Superstar. You'll see when we get there. I promise there won't be any toilet paper involved." The Latina winked and they began walking to Santana's SUV.

"Well that's a relief. I fear my trouble-making days-"

"Day." Santana corrected her.

"Ok. My trouble-making _day_ is over. I can't afford to partake in any more devious activities. One day all the tabloids will be looking for sordid details from my past to ruin me with."

"There goes my plan of robbing a bank and making a sex tape tonight. You got any ideas?"

"W-what?" Santana laughed and poked the diva in the side.

"Relax Rachel, I'm just messing with you." She opened the passenger door for the shorter girl. "Nothing but good ol' family friendly fun tonight.

* * *

><p>Santana pulled away from the diva's house, while Rachel looked for a song that she approved of on the Latina's iPod. Santana didn't understand the other girl's obsession with her mp3 player, but apparently the diva felt that a person's taste in music said a lot about who they were or something. The Latina wondered what her music told Rachel about her. Probably that she should stop letting Brittany download stuff on her iTunes account.<p>

"If you're not going to tell me where we're going, can you at least tell me how long it will take?"

"Like a half hour or so." Rachel looked suspicious.

"A half hour? Is this place even in Lima?"

"Nope," the Latina said simply. The diva opened her mouth to demand more details, but Santana sidetracked her. "Favorite movie?" Rachel then delved into the benefits of classics and why they were better than most modern movies. The Latina smirked at how easy it had been to distract the shorter girl.

"We're here." Santana exclaimed as she pulled into the parking lot of a park like area. Rachel opened her mouth in shock.

"What? You said a half hour!"

"Yeah, I did. And it's been what, twenty-eight minutes?" She turned to the diva and raised her eyebrows. "Somebody has got a mouth on them." Rachel blushed.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Sometimes I forget to just be quiet for a moment and let someone else speak. I know that it annoys everyone at school and in glee club. And probably my father's too, now that I think about it." The diva looked off to the side, frowning.

"It's fine Berry. I got to learn about you. You can go through my music, but this way works for me." The diva stopped frowning. "Plus after about ten minutes, your words just turned into white noise."

"Do I get to find out what we're doing now?"

"Yeah." Rachel beamed. "In a minute." The diva sighed dramatically and followed the Latina as she got out of the car. They were in a half full parking lot that was almost completely surrounded by a thin line of trees. Several couples were walking hand in hand around some trees at the end of the parking lot.

"What's over there…?" She wondered aloud. Santana ignored her and opened the back door of the car, and unloaded a basket and a blanket.

"Take this." She handed the diva a red and white checked blanket and kept the basket to herself. "Let's go."

"Ok." They followed the steady flow of traffic around the trees. "Oh wow," Rachel said softly. In front of them was a wide field of grass with small groups of people sprinkled all over. Everyone faced the same direction, with a large screen in front of them.

"They play old movies and stuff on Saturday nights. I thought maybe it would be something that would interest you. Something different than what Lima has to offer. And you said you like old movies, right? Because-"

"I love them," the diva said, interrupting the other girl's nervous ramblings. "Is this what two friends usually do when they hang out on Saturday nights? There seems to be a lot of couples around." Santana blushed.

"Probably not. Then again, I don't have the best track record with friends. Or people in general."

"Yeah, well, me neither." Rachel admitted. "Now let's find a good spot," She added brightly.

"After you."

* * *

><p>When Rachel found a spot that was close enough for everything on the screen to be clear, but not too close that they'd strain their eyes or hurt their necks, she unfolded the blanket. Right when she went to spread it on the ground, a gust of wind carried it across the field.<p>

"Crap," the diva squeaked before running after it. The blanket finally settled about twenty feet away, on the lap of a middle-aged woman who was looking less than amused. "Sorry," Rachel said in a high-pitched tone before grabbing the blanket and running back to an amused Santana. "That was mortifying." She was out of breath and her cheeks were red from embarrassment. "Let's move away from them."

"That was hilarious. Don't even worry about it. I'm sure mom jeans over there has already forgotten it." Rachel huffed as Santana took the blanket and began spreading it out.

"Whatever." The diva sat on the blanket, facing away from the Latina.

"Oh come on Rach. It was funny." Rachel didn't look at her. "Plus, you look cute when you're all flustered." The diva finally made eye contact.

"Really?"

"Would I lie to you?" Santana asked, grinning.

"I hope not. At least not anymore." She sounded unsure though.

"Well I wouldn't." The Latina sat right next to Rachel. "It's not like I used to lie to you all the time anyway. I was just a bitch. Well except the Manhands thing." She looked into the diva's eyes. "I don't know how you ever got that nickname." She grabbed the other girl's hand. "You have the softest hands. They're really nice." Rachel held her breath as Santana inspected her hand, tracing the lines on her palm.

"Yours aren't so bad either," Rachel let out softly. Santana snapped out of the slight daze she had been in and dropped the hand.

"Yeah, well, lotion and stuff. It really works." The diva laughed lightly.

"Yeah, I guess it does." Rachel looked around the area, but didn't recognize anyone sitting nearby. "So when does the movie start?"

"When the sun goes down, I guess." The Latina looked up at the sun, just beginning to set. "I figured we could watch the sunset. I brought food." She held up the picnic basket. "I know you're a vegan and all, so I tried to get stuff that would be ok. But I won't be offended if you don't want anything."

* * *

><p>Rachel felt her heart swell up a little bit, like there was helium making it lighter than it's ever been before. Santana was rambling about how she wasn't sure what vegans liked to eat as she unpacked hummus, fruit salad, and what looked like some sort of trail mix.<p>

"I know this is probably stereotypical vegan food. Not very imaginative on my part…"

"It's great."

"Really?" Santana still looked unsure. "I'm sure this is what everyone thinks of when they think of vegan food. It's all snacky stuff. I know that it can be real meals but I can't even cook regular food so-"

"Stop, it's amazing. The only person who has ever taken my food choices into account was Jesse and his reasons weren't entirely noble." Rachel was chuckling, but Santana's jaw was clenched as she remembered the egg incident.

"Maybe we toilet papered the wrong house." She said darkly. "Or we could use some eggs of our own to polish up his shiny car."

"I don't want to talk about Jesse, ok? I was just attempting to compliment you. I'm over all that stuff now. Let's just enjoy this vegan feast, shall we?" She nudged the Latina's side with her elbow, but only got a tight smile in return.

"Yeah, ok." Santana got some utensils out and handed them to the diva. Then she began to randomly put stuff on plates. "Take whatever you want."

"Um, ok." Rachel wasn't sure how to react to the Latina's cold tone. She didn't want to say anything that might upset her more and get a repeat of what happened earlier that week. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to handle being called Treasure Trail any more. Not by Santana.

* * *

><p>Santana was upset. She knew it wasn't the diva's fault. The Latina was being unfair by closing herself off. She didn't want to talk though. If she talks when she's mad, she'll say something she shouldn't and make the situation ten times worse. She couldn't afford to upset the diva again. Because of the car ride. It would be totally awkward if they were both mad at each other. That was the main reason, really.<p>

So she started dishing out food and handing stuff to the diva, not paying any attention to what she was doing. "Take whatever you want," she mumbled. She was failing miserably at keeping the mood light. She really wished that Rachel hadn't brought Jesse up, even if it was just in a joke.

"Um, ok." The Latina could tell Rachel didn't know how to act around her now. Brittany was the only one who could stop her when her moods started to spiral like this.

She was angrier with herself than that stupid Jesse St. Douche kid, not that she didn't hate him too. She remembered the day of the egg incident. She hadn't joined the guys when they stuck up for Rachel. Instead she'd whispered cruel jokes about the egged girl into Quinn's ear. That was before she'd realized how cool the diva could be though.

"We don't have to stay here, you know. I won't get mad." The Latina cringed at the diva's hurt tone, and choose to ignore her words.

"You want to know something totally lame and embarrassing?" Santana asked. Rachel's eyes darted to the Latina in surprise. Then the diva's shoulders loosened in relief. Santana smiled. Maybe she could do this after all.

"Yes." Santana chuckled and sat down on the blanket.

"Of course you do." The Latina was now toying with the edge of the blanket, not looking at the other girl. She shook her hair so that her bangs fell over her eyes. "I spent like two hours at the mall last night looking for a stupid red and white blanket. Movies always have a perfect little checkered blanket when someone goes on a picnic or something. I figured if all the movies show the same thing, there must be something to it. I don't really know what I'm doing." Santana felt the diva shifting closer to her. Then her bangs were being tucked behind her ears.

"Aww Santana." This resulted in the girl blushing. "I would've been content sitting on wet grass tonight, but this is perfect."

"Alright alright, let's eat." She began dishing the food out with purpose this time. She handed the other girl a plate. "The movie will probably be starting soon." They both looked at the sky, now shades of dark blue and purple with just a hint of orange still showing. They watched it in comfortable silence as they ate. As they were finishing, someone in the distance announced that the show would start in twenty minutes and that they would be showing _Wizard of Oz._

"Ahhhh _The_ _Wizard of Oz_!" Rachel looked at Santana expecting to see a similar reaction.

"Uh, yay." The Latina threw her hands up in the air, going for excitement, but her arms just kind of flopped back down. "Sorry. Never saw it." The diva was scandalized.

"You're parents never showed you _The Wizard of Oz_?" Hurt flashed across Santana's face for less than a second.

"Cool it. It's not like I said I haven't seen _The Notebook_." Rachel scoffed. "Oh, so you're too good for _The Notebook_ now, Ebert? Next you're gonna tell me you didn't like _Twilight_!" Rachel looked horrified.

"What?" She exclaimed loudly. "_Twilight_ isn't even close to a tenth of the greatness that is _The Wizard of Oz_."

Santana started laughing uncontrollably, leaning into the diva. "Do you really think I'd watch _Twilight_ Berry? You're so easy."

"Not according to Finn or Puck." Santana leaned back again to be able to see into the diva's eyes. She was impressed.

"Damn. Berry's got game."

"You do realize that in your attempt at making fun of me, you admitted to watching _The Notebook_." Santana's cheeks grew warm, which she hid by burying her face in the diva's shoulder.

"How do you always manage to make me feel so lame?" She nuzzled a little bit farther into Rachel's shoulder. The diva turned her head towards Santana. Their noses were almost touching.

"You don't seem lame to me," Rachel whispered looking deep into the other girl's eyes. "You haven't limped once tonight." Santana furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, while Rachel giggled.

"Oh my god, Berry." The Latina began chuckling as she got it. "That was a terrible joke. You're such a dork."

"Oh, you weren't using the literal definition?" Rachel didn't wait for a an answer. "And I think you're secretly a dork too, Santana Lopez. That's why you like spending time with me." Rachel went to poke the other girl's side, but Santana caught the diva's hand and trapped it between her own.

"I think you might be right." The Latina began slowly nuzzling her way along Rachel's collarbone.

"I always am." Rachel was trying to tease the other girl, but couldn't pull it off anymore. Her voice had taken on a slightly husky tone.

"Have I mentioned how much I like your hands?" Santana was playing with Rachel's fingers as she made her way to the diva's neck.

"I honestly can't remember much of anything right now."

"I wonder why that is?" Santana whispered into the shorter girl's neck. "Is this ok?"

"Yes," Rachel breathed out. Then she let out a small gasp. Santana was kissing a spot on her neck that no one had ever touched before. The Latina heard her gasp and slowly started kissing her way up. She was laying a feather light kiss on the diva's jaw, below her ear, when she heard someone approaching their blanket. She sighed and laid her forehead on Rachel's shoulder, waiting for the person to pass.

"Rachel?" The diva felt Santana freeze.

"T-Tina. Hey."

* * *

><p>Let me know if you liked it. Your reviews make me smile, always.<p> 


	7. Spiders & Sour Patch Kids

Thank you all for the great reviews and just being amazing! It really is a lot of fun reading what people think of the characters and the story. I'm not sure if I'm loving this chapter, but I'd love to know what you think.

One more thing. This might be a stupid question, but how does the beta stuff work? Or if there's anyone who read this and likes to beta, let me know :)

Anyway, on to the story!

* * *

><p>"T-Tina. Hey." Rachel was fairly certain she had heard a mumbled 'this isn't happening' come from the Latina. Tina was now staring at the diva's shoulder in confusion.<p>

"Is that San-"

"Did you get it Santana?" Rachel practically yelled, before Tina could finish her question. The surprise at the question was enough to bring Santana out of hiding enough to look at Rachel in confusion. "The spider." She turned to Tina to explain. "There was a huge spider on the back of my neck. Is it gone now Santana?" Her tone had not gotten any quieter.

"Um, yeah… Yeah it's gone." The Latina had turned around, but wouldn't make eye contact with the girl standing in front of them.

"A spider?" Tina questioned suspiciously.

"Yeah. I don't know what I would have done without Santana here to help me. I mean it could've been poisonous or something. I could've died!" Rachel seemed to be trying to distract Tina using dramatics. Santana let out a snort of laughter at the diva's antics, but covered it up with a fake cough.

"I really don't think there are many deadly spiders around Lima." Tina chuckled then looked at the Latina. "But lucky Santana was here, just in case," she added knowingly. Santana glared at her.

"Yeah, it was lucky."

"Well, I was on my way to buy some popcorn for me and Mike before the movie starts. I guess I'll see you guys later." Rachel looked at Santana, relieved. The Latina, however, still looked wary. Tina turned around once she got a safe distance away. "For future reference, I wouldn't use my lips to kill a poisonous spider." The Asian girl laughed at the incredulous look on Rachel's face before walking away. Santana was glaring daggers at her back.

"That bitch." The Latina was up and walking after the girl before the diva could stop her.

"Just great," Rachel mumbled to herself as she flopped backwards and looked up at the stars. Now she would have to deal with a scared Santana, and possibly an injured Tina.

* * *

><p>Santana didn't know what she planned to say, or do, when she caught up to the Asian girl. All she knew was that she had to do something. At the very least, she needed to know what the other girl's intentions were. She knew that Tina was Rachel's friend, but being friends with someone didn't automatically mean they would have your back. The girls in Cheerios called each other friends, but they wouldn't hesitate to stab a bitch in the back if it meant they could nab a higher spot on the pyramid.<p>

"Hey! Chang." She caught Tina's arm and pulled her around, right as the girl arrived at the back of the line for the concession stand.

"Santana, w-what do y-you want?" Tina looked genuinely frightened at the sight of the Latina behind her.

"Shut it, Stutters. We've known you can talk like a normal person for like a year now."

"I was only joking back there," she said, and then quickly added, "Mike knows where I am. He'll come looking for me if I'm not back soon." Santana looked amused by this.

"No need to involve Asian Number Two. What do you think I came to do? Jesus, I'm not the mafia. I just want to have a chat with you."

"A chat?" Tina was looking at her suspiciously. "That sounds like what the mafia says when they're going to whack someone." Santana laughed out loud at this. Tina cracked a small smile at the Latina's laughter. When Santana saw the smile, she immediately stopped laughing and stared at the other girl seriously. Tina's smile was gone as soon as Santana stopped laughing. She looked scared again.

"Relax. It's just… What you saw over there… It's wasn't what it looked like…"

"Hey, it's not my business how you or Rachel deal with insect problems." Tina was smiling at the Latina now. Santana wasn't nearly as intimidating when she was unsure of herself.

"Damn right it's not." The Latina had a small smile too.

"Listen, I'm friends with Rachel. I don't want to make her life any harder than it has to be. I know what Kurt went through." At this, Santana's face turned to stone.

"What are trying to say?" Santana looked around to see if anyone was in hearing range. "I'm not like that. Me and Rachel.. We were just joking around."

"Ok, that's fine too. I didn't realize you two even hung out outside of school." Tina was trying to change the subject to placate the fiery Latina.

"Well we do." Santana snapped. "Just keep your mouth shut about tonight. I can make your life at school hell."

"You're threatening me now?" Tina shook her head disbelievingly. Santana bit her lip looking unsure.

"That was stupid. I won't try to make your school life hell. Just please don't make mine." This was the first time that Tina had seen the girl look vulnerable and it was surprisingly heart wrenching.

"Whatever you and Rachel do is your business, alright? Mike and I are sitting near the front. We won't be able to see whatever you guys decide to do. I'll hold him up for a few after the movie ends, so you can leave first."

"This isn't a trick?" Santana squinted her eyes at Tina. Just then, they heard the music of opening credits start. The Asian girl looked around, distracted.

"Nope. No tricks. I really need to get back now though."

"Ok," Santana said slowly. "You know, you're not so bad Chang."

"I'm not sure about you Lopez." Santana let out a short laugh, then slapped the girl hard on her back, an attempt at a friendly gesture. "I'll get that. Consider it a bribe. Not that there's any reason for a bribe." Santana bought the popcorn for the other girl, mumbling something about just being friends to an amused Tina. When the Asian girl left to find her Asian boy, Santana was grinning. She hurriedly bought some candy for herself and the diva, if she was lucky, before walking back to the checkered blanket.

* * *

><p>Rachel was getting worried now. The movie was starting and Santana still hadn't come back. She started to seriously wonder if Santana hadn't just ditched her and the picnic gear and left. Would she be able to find Tina and Mike to get a ride home after the movie? She was beginning to regret agreeing to go somewhere a half-hour outside of Lima. It didn't help her worrying that she had forgotten her cell phone in the Latina's car. Then she felt something tickling the back of her neck. The Latina was grinning down at her as she ran her hand along the diva's neck.<p>

"I think you might have another spider on the back of your neck." She whispered because the movie was starting. "I might have to do something about that." Santana wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and Rachel blushed.

"It was all I could think of. Improvisational acting is not my strong suit." The diva eyed the Latina carefully to see if she was freaked out by her interaction with Tina. But Santana just chuckled as she sat down.

"I'll say. Poisonous spiders." Then the Latina's voice got really high pitched. "I could've died!" Rachel scoffed at the Latina's bad impersonation.

"And you were so much better. If I hadn't said something, I fear you would have stayed frozen in that position the whole night." Rachel giggled until she noticed the Latina was staring at her neck intensely. "What?"

"Don't move Rach," Santana said quickly, her tone serious.

"What? Why?" The diva was getting freaked out.

"It's a spider." Rachel rolled her eyes. "I'm not joking." Santana hadn't cracked a smile.

"I don't believe you."

"Just brush it off you! And stay away from me until you do." Santana backed away from her. The diva was panicking now.

"Santana," she hissed, trying to keep quiet. "Get it off me, now!" She was getting louder and swatting at her own neck. Somewhere nearby somebody shushed at them.

"Fine. Come here." Rachel scooted over to the Latina, her neck stretched out. Santana looked at her neck. "I can't find it now." The Latina leaned in closer, pretending to look for a spider. Suddenly she leaned all the way forward and blew a huge raspberry on the diva's neck. Rachel laughed loudly at the unexpected sensation. "That's the brave Lopez way. We go after spiders lips first." Then she raspberried the laughing girl again.

"What are you doing?" Rachel gasped through her laughs. The Latina backed away from her neck.

"Improv." She winked "That's how it's done. There wasn't a spider." Rachel rolled her eyes again.

"Yeah, I think I figured that one out."

"Took you long enough." Someone shushed at them again. Then actually yelled at them to be quiet. Santana looked like she was going to yell back, but Rachel grabbed her arm.

"Can we watch the movie?"

* * *

><p>Santana agreed to watch the movie, but her mind was elsewhere. If she wanted to watch a movie with a talking lion, she'd watch The Chronicles of Narnia or some shit. Or maybe iRobot for the heartless robots. At least those robots were kind of badass. So she watched the diva smiling up at the screen out of the corner of her eye and thought about how the night had gone.<p>

That Tina girl had actually been really cool about the situation. Not that there was a situation, Santana had been sure to admit nothing. Still, it was pretty obvious what had been happening before the Asian girl walked up, and Tina hadn't looked at her in disgust over it. She had been friendly to Santana. Actually, this was probably the first time the two girls had been civil to each other. Feeling elated by this fact, she purposefully set her hand down right next to the diva's.

When Rachel continued to watch the movie, the Latina slid her hand over a little more. Nothing. The Latina cleared her throat. "Do you need a cough drop?" The diva whispered, taking her eyes off the screen.

"Urgh. No." Santana pulled her hand back. She had basically made out with Rachel's neck earlier, and now she couldn't even get a little hand action. She wasn't even asking for the good kind of hand action. Santana smirked to herself at that thought. Then she was frowning again because Rachel had gone back to the movie. She sullenly got the box of candy of her jacket pocket.

"Are those Sour Patch Kids?" Suddenly, Rachel was eyeing her hands intensely.

"They might be," Santana replied. "What's it to ya?" The Latina opened the box and began to slowly one.

"It's only my favorite of all the candies!"

"Really?" Santana kept a cool tone and popped another piece into her mouth. "They're ok, I guess."

"Can I have one? Rachel asked quickly.

"I guess I can spare one." The diva eagerly held her hand out. "This one." Santana went to put it into Rachel's hand, but halfway to the outstretched hand, she changed directions. The red Sour Patch Kid was now sitting between the Latina's front teeth, but she wasn't trying eat it.

"You know you look ridiculous, right?" Santana just shrugged. "Fine." Rachel leaned forward and delicately caught the candy in her own teeth, her lips barely touching the other girl's, before she pulled back. Santana looked dejected.

"That's it?" She sighed and fell backwards on the blanket, not worried about watching the movie. Rachel's head appeared, blocking her view of the stars.

"Well what exactly were you expecting? There are people everywhere."

"So you're embarrassed by me?"

"What? No!"

"Here. Just take the stupid candy." Santana shoved the box towards Rachel.

* * *

><p>The diva was struggling to keep her tone a whisper. She didn't want to tell Santana that the reason she was wary to do anything was because she thought that the other girl might get scared and push her away again. That would only anger the Latina. Then again, Santana had been the one to initiate the more than friendly contact earlier. And she didn't seem frightened by Tina seeing them, which was progress. Rachel made a mental note to ask the Latina what had happened when she went after Tina.<p>

"I don't want the candy." Rachel pushed the box back at the other girl, but immediately regretted it and snatched it back. "Ok, I do want the candy. But not if you're going be angry."

"I'm not," the Latina snapped in a whisper. "We're just friends hanging out right? I can't be mad at my pal for wanting some candy," she added sarcastically.

"Well I don't usually plan on making out with all my friends in their cars after we watch movies together," Rachel said angrily. "And for the record, you were the one who wanted to "hang out" as friends."

* * *

><p>Rachel was watching the end of the movie and ignoring her, but Santana had a huge smile on her face. The diva was annoyed with her, yes, but she had also planned on making out with her later. The Latina was scared that if Rachel stayed angry, those plans would change. But she was Santana Lopez. She could charm the pants off of anyone. The underwear too, with a few extra minutes. Once again, the Latina was smirking at the thoughts going through her head.<p>

"Superstar," she whispered tapping the girl's arm from her own spot on the ground. Rachel ignored her for the movie. "I'm sorry I was being a jerk." She added, deciding to try her luck with holding the girl's hand. When Rachel ignored the apology and moved her hand away, she decided to play the victim card instead. "This is all just really scary for me." The Latina told herself that the words were only to appease the diva, but she knew they were true. Rachel's eyes darted to Santana.

"I know it is." She picked up the Latina's hand. "Let's just watch the end of the movie ok? We can talk later." Rachel smiled reassuringly at her. Santana grinned to herself when Rachel began playing with her fingers. That was easier than she'd thought it'd be.

* * *

><p>Let me know what you think :)<p> 


	8. Flying Monkeys and Soaring Hearts

Thank you all so much for sticking with this story and reviewing. It's really made this a great for me.

And for the person who said they just wanted Santana to not be struggling, that actually kind of sparked an idea for another story that I wrote just a small teaser chapter for. I liked the idea of Santana not struggling because her parents were completely accepting of her. It's a Brittana story and I'm not sure what I'll do with it.

This story (and Pezberry in general) holds a special place in my heart though, so I don't want to ignore it for a different one. I think it's helping me get a part of me out that has been suppressed for a while, so it feels amazing when I get those emails saying I got a review/favorite/alert for it.

To the story!

* * *

><p>Santana was looking at the side of Rachel's face, when the diva suddenly turned towards her, grinning. "Such a wonderful movie. Did you like it? You loved it, right?" The Latina was shocked to see that credits were rolling down the screen. She hadn't even realized that the movie was over.<p>

"Um, yeah. It was great. Flying monkeys.. Awesome." She gave the diva an unsure smile.

"What was your favorite part?"

"Well… Any part with the monkeys I guess. And her shoes… they were really pretty." Rachel seemed amused by her answer.

"Can you believe that ending though?"

"I'm having trouble believing it."

"I cried the first time I saw it." Santana looked a little confused, but nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it was tough to watch."

"How could Dorothy die?" The Latina's eyebrows furrowed even more, but she kept up her act.

"That was like watching an M. Night Shyamalan movie or something," Santana said seriously. "Except by now we know to expect a shock ending from him," she added, looking off to the side in thought. Then she noticed that the diva was barely containing her laughter. "Your messing with me, aren't you?"

"How could you think that Dorothy died?" Rachel was having trouble speaking through her intense giggling. "It's a children's movie."

"Well Bambi's mom died," Santana said in defense.

"That was a cartoon deer though, not a person."

"Didn't make it any less sad!"

"Aw, did you cry in Bambi?"

"I was like six years old. Let's just go." The Latina stood and started packing up the picnic basket. The diva watched adoringly as she tried to hide the red now coloring her cheeks.

"You done making fun of me now?" The Latina was holding her hand out to help Rachel up.

"You could have watched the movie. Then it wouldn't have been so easy."

"It was boring. And I had distractions." The last sentence was said in a quiet mumble, but the diva heard.

"I may have had some distractions of my own." Then Rachel was pulling Santana across the grassy landscape.

* * *

><p>All Rachel knew was that she needed to get to Santana's car. It was time to do what she had talked about earlier. Her heart soared at the thought of Santana being distracted by her for two hours. The Latina truly had no idea what had happened in that movie, all because of Rachel. Rachel, the girl who couldn't get Finn's attention away from his video games for ten minutes. And Jesse got more distracted by his own reflection in a mirror than by her.<p>

"What's the hurry Superstar? You're gonna rip my shoulder out of it's socket." Rachel rolled her eyes and kept the same pace, still pulling Santana along behind her.

"I don't think I have anywhere near the muscle strength for that Santana."

The parking lot was packed. Rachel weaved through the crowd of people and cars, as Santana tried to keep up without bumping into too many people in the process. When they got to the black SUV, Santana reached for the passenger side door handle, to open it for the other girl.

"Now are you going to tell me what the rush was all ab-" She didn't get a chance to finish the sentence though, because Rachel had pushed her against the door. "What are-" She was interrupted again, this time by the diva's lips. Santana dropped the woven basket as her eyes fluttered shut, ignoring the sound of its contents spilling onto the pavement. She blindly reached out for Rachel's hips, and when she found them, she pulled the smaller girl into her as far as she could.

The diva's heart was pounding like it never had before. She was finally feeling the butterflies that all those romantic comedies had talked about. She moaned at the sensation of Santana's fingertips digging into her hips, her own hands darting up to thread through the Latina's silky hair. Santana swiped her tongue across the diva's bottom lip to deepen the kiss and Rachel opened her mouth to allow it. After a few moments, the diva pulled back to catch her breath.

"That was amazing."

"Yeah…" For once, Rachel was out of words. That could be blamed on the lips that were now laying light kisses along her jaw line.

"Hot." An unfamiliar voice interrupted their moment. The girls separated to see a boy that couldn't have been older than thirteen staring at them with wide eyes. The diva felt herself being gently pushed back as Santana picked up a half full container of hummus out of the spilled mess on the ground.

"Get out of here you little perv." She threw the plastic container at him and it hit his shoes, splattering the bottom of his jeans. The boy bolted in the opposite direction before Santana could throw anything else. "Enjoy it freak. That's the most interaction from a girl you're ever gonna get," the Latina yelled at his retreating form. When Santana turned around, she was laughing. "We should probably leave before he gets his parents."

"Probably." Rachel nodded in agreement.

"Nothing like a teenage boy to kill the mood." Santana looked away when she realized what she said. "I mean… Whatever. It's totally true." The Latina hadn't necessarily admitted to anything, but it was a start. The words seemed to make Rachel smile, at least. "Ready to go, Superstar?" The diva nodded, and this time she allowed Santana to open her door.

* * *

><p>Santana smiled as Rachel hummed along happily to the music playing in her car. Even now, she was perfectly in tune with the notes coming from the speakers. The Latina just tapped her fingers to the beat on the steering wheel. She was on cloud nine.<p>

First off, she had gotten to make out with Rachel. How Frankenteen had ever let that go for Quinn, she couldn't understand. She was friends with the blonde, but imagined that kissing Quinn was like making out with an ice sculpture. Secondly, two people had caught them in action and hadn't been disgusted. And why should they be disgusted? If anything, people should be jealous. Her and Rachel were hot together.

"You didn't hurt Tina did you?" Rachel's question snapped her into present time.

"Nothing that will cause permanent damage," she answered casually.

"Santana!"

"Rachel!"

"Please tell me you're joking."

"What? She needs to learn to mind her own business. Nobody messes with Santana Lopez." Rachel looked outraged and Santana figured she shouldn't push her luck. "Relax. We just talked."

"About?" Rachel pressed for more information.

"Just about what she saw. It wasn't a big deal. She's actually not so bad."

"Most people aren't." Santana rolled her eyes.

"Says the girl who gets slushied once a week."

"That's just high school. In the real world people don't get rewarded for that kind of behavior. They'll grow up. They'll learn. And if some don't, that's no skin off my back. I'll be singing on Broadway while they work the drive-through at Taco Bell." Rachel laughed, but the other girl looked upset. "What?"

"You do realize you're talking about me right? I'm one of those people. I'm a bitch, Rachel. People at school hate me."

"Only because you refuse to show them the real you. What are you so afraid of?"

"Maybe that is the real me. Have you considered that?"

"No. I haven't." Santana opened her mouth angrily, but the diva didn't give her a chance to say anything. "You never did tell me why glee was your favorite part of the day." She was taken aback by the topic change, but was happy to go along with it.

"I don't know. It's fun I guess."

"Which part? The singing or the dancing?"

"Both. We're all doing the same thing, so if we look stupid, no one cares. It's fun to be able to just goof around and not worry for an hour." Rachel looked pleased at that answer.

"So you like it because you can be yourself without being judged? The Latina narrowed her eyes.

"Ok Dr. Phil, I see where you're going with this. You couldn't just change the subject. What's your fucking deal with getting me to talk about my feelings?" Santana had raised her voice towards the end.

"I'm sorry." Rachel looked frightened by the Latina's outburst. "We can talk about something else. What's your favorite movie?" She asked, her tone hopeful.

"I don't feel like talking anymore," was Santana's cold response.

* * *

><p>It was a warm night, but the atmosphere in the car was icy. The last five minutes of the ride back to Lima was spent in silence. Why did this always happen? Every time the diva made a little bit of progress with the Latina, something would ruin it. Or she would say something that upset the other girl. When they pulled up in front of Rachel's house, Santana kept the car running. Rachel looked at her with sad, doe eyes, but she stared straight ahead.<p>

"I'm sorry Santana." When the diva didn't get an answer, she reached for the door handle. "Goodnight." The Latina sighed quietly and turned off the car.

"Zombieland." Rachel looked at Santana like she had two heads. "My favorite movie. It's got everything. Zombies, jokes, Bill Murray, Emma Stone." She wiggled her eyebrows up and down at the Emma Stone part, earning a small giggle.

"Never seen it. It sounds kind of terrible though."

"It's really not. Maybe we could watch it sometime?" Santana asked, nervously picking at the stitching on her seat. "I'm sorry Rach. You were right. I just have trouble talking about things that actually matter. I do love glee. It's the one place I don't need to be a bitch."

"You don't need to be a bitch with me."

"I know." She sighed. "I always end up being one anyway." Rachel reached across the center console to grab the Latina's hand and held it between both of her own.

"No you don't. We had a small lull in our conversation, that's all. I get into bigger arguments with my fathers when they drink the last of the soy milk." Santana laughed. "Tonight was amazing. I had a great time."

"Yeah, it was great wasn't it? I'm focusing on the one bad detail. Why do I always do that? I should be more focused on getting some more of those sweet lady kisses from you." Rachel's smile got impossibly bigger.

"I think I could be persuaded to give some to you." Santana grinned and leaned her body over the middle, resting her elbows on the console.

"Oh, yeah?" She pulled Rachel's hand to her mouth, kissing her lightly on the palm. "How?"

"You're doing a good job of figuring it out on your own." The diva's tone was slightly more high pitched than normal.

"Should I tell you how great you are?" She kissed the girl's inner wrist. "Or how amazing you're voice is, even when you're not trying?" She kissed a spot halfway up the diva's forearm. "How your eyes are so warm that they could melt a glacier." One last kiss on the inner crook of Rachel's elbow, then she was looking intensely into the girl's wide brown eyes. "Or that you're beautiful?"

"All those things sound good." Rachel sounded out of breath as she stared back into Santana's eye.

"Great! I think I'll save those for the second date though."

"Way to kill the moment." But Rachel looked amused. "I'd be upset if you hadn't just insinuated that this was a date and that you'd like a second one."

"Did I say that?" Santana asked innocently, before leaning forward and kissing Rachel on the lips. She didn't try to deepen it. She just wondered on the fact that what was probably the softest kiss of her life, made her feel more alive than any of the others before.


	9. IHOP to the Mall

Thanks so much for the reviews!

For this one I wanted to add some depth into the friendships, mainly Santana's friendships with Brittany and Quinn. But I have it set up so that if I continue it, the next chapter will probably be a lot of Santana/Rachel time.

Let me know what you think :)

* * *

><p>Santana's stomach grumbled for the second time in the last five minutes. The smell of bacon, eggs, and pancakes in the air was only making the situation worse. She was at IHOP with Brittany and Quinn. It had been a tradition of theirs since freshman year. No matter what else was going on in their lives, they would come for brunch on the first Sunday of every month. Even after major fights, after they hadn't talk to each other for weeks. They always showed.<p>

It was their time to load up on pancakes, bitch about unimportant problems, and every now and then, discuss things that really mattered. Well, Santana and Quinn bitched. Brittany was almost incapable of complaining about life. She brought the positive attitude that kept their group balanced.

"How long does it take to make a damn pancake?" The Latina looked around the restaurant for their waitress as she impatiently tapped her nails against the white countertop.

"I don't think one pancake will be enough for all of us," Brittany said, her blond eyebrows furrowed.

"You're right Britt." Santana said from across the table.

Quinn snorted from her spot next to the blonde, before getting up from her seat by the aisle. "I gotta pee." The head cheerleader headed to the bathroom at the back of the restaurant.

"That's the second time since we got here." Santana raised her eyebrows. "She must be prego again."

Brittany solemnly nodded her head in agreement. "Like the spaghetti sauce."

"Sure."

"So are you going to tell me where you were last night? You didn't answer any of my texts."

Santana began playing with the saltshaker, making it dance across the counter. "Sorry, I never got a chance to check my phone. I guess I was distracted."

"By Rachel?" Brittany asked, with a sly grin.

Santana had now grabbed the peppershaker too. She took turns sliding the two glass dispensers across the counter, as she diligently avoided making any eye contact. "Maybe," she admitted. "We watched _The Wizard of Oz_," she added, ducking her head down, so her bangs covered her face. "I made us a picnic."

"You like her."

Santana could feel her cheeks growing warm. Before spending time with Rachel, the experience would have been completely foreign to her. Now, to be blushing was commonplace. "I don't know. She always wants to talk. Like about feelings and stuff. It's annoying."

"What's annoying?" Quinn was back.

"Rachel," Brittany stated brightly.

Quinn snorted. "Oh, Treasure Trail. Duh. She's always annoying."

The Latina narrowed her eyes. "Watch it, Q."

"Santana likes her."

The head cheerleader didn't look at all shocked by this information, like the Latina was expecting. "Once again, duh."

"I know, right?" Brittany smiled at Santana like she was a child asking about the Tooth Fairy.

"What?" Santana asked, looking between the two blonds incredulously.

"So that's where you were last night."

"How did you guys know?" Both girls rolled their eyes at their friend's question.

"You're not as sneaky about what you're feeling as you think you are," Quinn answered.

"I've seen the way you look at her," supplied Brittany. "Like she's your favorite flavor of ice cream or something." Santana had thought her cheeks couldn't get any redder. She had been wrong.

The waitress appeared, balancing three plates on a tray. "Oh, thank god." She had never been so happy to see a huge pile of pancakes in her life and not because of the war waging in her stomach. The grumbling had taken a backseat to her current embarrassment.

"Anyway." Quinn had already begun to shovel pancakes into her mouth. "If you like Rachel, I like Rach-" The girl's head did a spasm to the side and it looked like she was about to throw up the bite of pancake she had just swallowed. "Nope. Can't even get through that sentence. If you like her, I can _put up_ with Berry. I'd totally be ok if you dropped her for another girl though." She paused her eating and looked at Santana thoughtfully. "Actually, I like that option better."

"Well I like Rachel," Brittany said with a huge smile.

"It's just her, you know." Santana's face held a mixture of vulnerability and fear. "Not all girls."

"And Britt." Quinn gave the Latina a sad smile. "Well, whoever it ends up being, it doesn't matter. We love you Santana. We want you to be happy."

"It's true." Brittany nodded her agreement. "We do."

"I…" Santana coughed to cover up the fact that she was getting choked up. "Thanks guys." Then her she let out a mumbled, "I love you too," and began to rake up her pancakes with a fork.

Brittany watched the Latina in amusement, before deciding to put the girl out of her misery. For the time being anyway. "So Quinn, what's going on with you and Finn now?"

"Urgh, don't even get me started. I'm so over him. Is it just me or is Sam looking way hotter lately?" And just like that, they were gossiping about high school and boys, just like any other Sunday brunch. Santana felt a rush of affection for the two blondes across the table. She didn't know if it was possible to love anyone more than she loved them, right at that moment. They may fight about petty things sometimes, but they were there when it really counted.

"I don't know about Sam. Sometimes when he talks, it's like he's not even speaking English."

"That's the Na'vi, Britt."

"Bless you."

* * *

><p>Rachel ran her hand through a rack of clothing at one of the stores in the mall. She probably wouldn't be buying anything today. Kurt and Mercedes never approved of any of the clothing she liked. But she was happy to spend the day with her two friends. She had a brief panic when she found out that Tina would be meeting them there though. They normally got along great, but she was nervous after last night. It was difficult to predict Santana's actions. She was worried that the girl might have said something hurtful to Tina.<p>

"Tina's here." Mercedes was looking down at her phone to read the text. "She said to meet her in the food court."

"Hold on." Kurt held up a pair of black and silver pants to the girls. Mercedes shook her head at them. "Fine," he let out in a dramatic sigh. "Let's go. I need a smoothie."

"I could go for a smoothie. I'm quite parched."

"Let's do this thing." They began their trek across the mall. "Hey girl." Mercedes was the first to catch site of Tina.

"Hey guys. What's up?"

"Just about to get out Jamba on. Care to join?"

"Of course," Tina answered Kurt, and he led the way through the maze of tables, across the food court. Rachel grabbed Tina's arm, letting Kurt and Mercedes get a few feet ahead.

"Sorry about this," She said, when she thought the other two were out of the hearing range. "I was just wondering what you and Santana talked about last night. I apologize if she said something offensive. She gets extremely defensive when there is a chance someone might do something to upset her."

"Well hello to you too."

The diva smiled sheepishly. She had never been good at small talk. "Sorry. Hey Tina."

Tina chuckled at the girl. "Last night was nothing. Santana was uncharacteristically tame."

The girls slowly started walking again as Rachel sighed in relief. "Oh, good. I was worried she would threaten you or something. I guess I was just being silly."

"Ah, yeah. Well I guess she did do that." Tina laughed, then quickly added, "But she took it back right away."

Rachel shook her head lightly, smiling to herself. "Of course she did."

"You know Rach, you can talk about it if you want. I get the feeling that no one really knows that there's anything going on with you two." Tina was smiling reassuringly at her, but the diva looked uncertain.

"What did she tell you? I just don't want to betray her trust. She doesn't give it out very willingly."

"Why does that not surprise me?" The Asian girl asked dryly, getting a small laugh from the diva. "Well if it counts for anything, you guys are really cute together."

"Really?" Rachel couldn't hold back her grin.

"Totally. But don't tell her I said that. I think she would shank someone if they ever called her cute." Both girls laughed at the truth in that statement.

But then the diva was frowning. "I just can't ever tell what's going on in her head," she blurted out. She couldn't help it. She needed to talk to someone about the Latina. She had never been good at reading other people. Tina already knew anyway, so she wasn't really betraying any trust. "Sometimes I think she really likes me, but then other times it's like she just wants to be as far from me as possible."

Tina bit her lip as she thought about her answer. "I don't really know her that well, Rach. When she was talking to me though, she just seemed scared."

"Are you guys coming or what?" Rachel jumped at Mercedes' interruption. The other girl already had a smoothie in her hand.

"Yeah, we're coming." She gave Tina a small smile in thanks, before they stepped up to order their own drinks.

* * *

><p>Santana grunted, wishing she had worn looser pants. Damn her love for pancakes. The two blondes across from her looked equally uncomfortable.<p>

"Urgh," Quinn groaned. "Why do I never learn?"

"I think there's an alien in my belly, like that movie. What if it bursts out?"

"I think it was just a carb overload Britt." The blonde didn't look convinced by Santana's words, but didn't argue. "Pedicure time?"

"I don't know. My mom is probably wondering where-"

My treat," The Latina interrupted the head cheerleader, waving her credit card in the air. "Well my dad's treat, but her won't notice the charge."

"Oh. Then yeah, definitely." Quinn smiled sweetly at Santana, who rolled her eyes.

"Britt?"

"Sure."

The three cheerleaders paid for their meals before heading to the mall to continue their girl's day. When they got there they used the main entrance, which led right into the food court.

"Urgh, no more food." The smell of Taco Bell was upsetting the Latina's too full stomach. They walked hurriedly through the place.

"Is that Rachel?"

"Shouldn't Berry be allergic to malls or something? There's no other excuse for her wardrobe."

"Where?" Santana ignored Quinn's dig as she looked around. She saw the diva standing with her back to the Latina, laughing with a group of her friends. "Oh no, I don't think I can handle her friends today." She really just didn't want to have to deal with her own friends teasing her. She had trouble talking to the diva alone, an audience would kill what little game she had left.

"Let's just sneak by them." Santana sighed with relief at Quinn's suggestion and happily agreed. When they were just about to pass Rachel and her friends, the head cheerleader turned to Santana with a wicked grin. "It's for your own good." Before the Latina could say anything in protest, she was roughly shoved into Rachel. "This should be good," she heard Quinn whispering to Brittany and the two giggled behind her.

"Oomph." The short diva almost fell at the contact, but Santana grabbed her to keep her steady.

"Sorry, Rach. Quinn thinks she's funny." Santana took a step back, giving the diva some space to breath. "Hey." She smiled nervously. "Chang." She nodded at Tina, but ignored the rest of the diva's friends. Tina gave her a small wave.

"Santana." Rachel seemed shocked by the girl's sudden appearance, but returned the smile.

"I don't think anything. I know it. Hey Manhands." Santana sent the cheerleader a glare. "Fine. Berry."

"Hey Rachel!" Brittany stepped forward. Rachel was still eyeing Quinn suspiciously. She never used the diva's real name, even if it was just her surname.

"Um, what is happening?" Mercedes and Kurt watched the exchange, confusion apparent on their faces.

"You called her Rach," Kurt accused the Latina.

Santana panicked. "No, uh, I said Roach. Like the disgusting bug." Rachel looked liked she'd been slapped and Brittany jabbed the Latina with her elbow. "No, uh, I did say Rach. Sorry Rachel." Kurt and Mercedes looked at each other, even more confused now. "We're friends, got a problem with that Lady Lips?"

Kurt was offended. "No. I can't pretend I'm not shocked though."

"You guys should come to the nail place with us," Brittany invited them excitedly.

"I don't know." Mercedes glance around the group unsurely.

"It'll be fun, Cedes." Quinn smiled softly at the girl. Santana rolled her eyes. Quinn had been friends with the other girl since her pregnancy. Mercedes looked to Kurt for an answer and he gave a small nod.

"Ok…" Quinn grabbed Mercedes arm, who then linked her arm to Kurt's. The three chatted amicably as they headed in the direction of the salon. They walked about twenty feet and turned right.

"You coming Chang?" Santana asked Tina. "Someone has to translate what the Asians who work there are saying. I know they talk shit about me."

Tina rolled her eyes, but gave a small laugh. "I grew up in Lima. The only language I speak is English." Santana grinned. At least one of Rachel's friends appreciated her brand of bitch.

"Me too. That's so crazy. Let's go." Brittany grabbed Tina and pulled her after the other three. Before they got too far, the blonde turned and winked at Rachel and Santana.

"Jeez, Superstar. You know how to clear a room." They were now the only two of their small group left standing at the edge of the food court.

"I believe they left after your arrival Santana," Rachel pointed out.

"Pssh. Minor details."

"And why did Brittany just wink at us?" Rachel asked, watching their friends walk away, in confusion.

"Oh, um, about that." Santana looked around the mall. On one side of her was the food court, half filled with all kinds of different people. She didn't see anyone she recognized though. The other side was the small hallway that led to the bathrooms and a few stores. Lima was so small, the mall never got very busy. "They may think I like you," She let in a quiet mumble.

"They? As is Brittany and Quinn? Quinn's going to torture me. Even more than she does now." Rachel was breathing in shallow breaths.

"No," Santana said quickly. "She called you Berry. She likes you." Rachel shook her head, clearly not believing the Latina. "Fine, but she likes me. We're best friends. If I like you, she'll be ok with you."

"How exactly do they think you like me? Like me as in friends?"

"Friends yeah, maybe more than that." Santana didn't know what to say. She didn't want to put too much on the diva too soon.

Rachel was playing with the hem of her shirt, not making eye contact with the taller girl. "Are they right?"

The Latina tried to read the diva's facial expression. She would want them to be right, right? That meant the Latina liked her. She wanted the Santana to like her, right? "Yeah, I think they are. Is that good?" She mentally kicked herself for sounding so lame. She was only confident in the physical aspects of a relationship. Emotions were her kryptonite.

Rachel lit up like Brittany when she sees ducks. "Yeah." She shyly kicked her foot against the grey tile beneath them. "It is."

"I really want to kiss you right now." The diva blushed at Santana's quiet admission. "Why do we always have to be surrounded by people?" The Latina glared at a family of five as they walked by, like they were the only reason she couldn't kiss the diva. Rachel giggled and pushed her shoulder to get her to quit.

"My dads are going to be out of town next weekend. You could stop by or something."

"Stop by?"

"Stop by, stay the night, your decision," the diva said nonchalantly. But being Rachel, she couldn't keep her cool for too long. "Not like _stay the night._" The way she emphasized stay the night made it clear she was referring to sex. "But like kissing and stuff." The diva couldn't control the blush spreading across her cheeks, or apparently the words coming out of her mouth. "Over the clothes. I'm not ready for sex," she whispered.

"Oh my god, Rachel." Santana's face was equally red. She quickly scanned the vicinity to make sure no one could hear their conversation. Even she didn't want to be able to hear the conversation at this point. "This is worse than the puberty talk in sixth grade." She was shaking her head back and forth, like it would somehow clear the last minute of the conversation from her head. "I'm not a total slut, you know? I just wanted to spend time with you."

"No no no no no," the diva said quickly. "That's not what I meant. I was just nervous. I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not very good at this."

"At what?" Santana still looked mortified. "Talking like a normal person?"

"I guess that too," Rachel admitted. "But I was referring to relationships."

"Woah I think you're getting ahead of yourself with the r-word. Santana Lopez doesn't get tied down."

"I just- I didn't- I don't-"

"I guess I was right about the whole you not being very good at talking thing. Which I don't understand because you've had more than enough practice." Santana teased. "Anyway I was kidding. I'd like to come over next weekend."

"Yeah?"

"Of course. Nothing gets this girl more excited than the promise of some over the sweater groping." Santana winked at the diva, whose cheeks were warming up again.

"Oh, gosh. Hearing someone else say it… What is wrong with me?"

"So many things," the Latina said brightly, reaching out to pinch the girl's cheek.

Rachel swatted the other girl's hand away from her face. "Should we go find everyone else?" Santana ignored her and walked down the momentarily deserted hallway to the bathrooms. When she got to the door to the bathroom, she turned and beckoned for Rachel to follow her.

* * *

><p>Rachel bit her lip as she watched the bathroom door swing shut. On one hand, she and Santana really needed to stop being so intimate in public places. While Santana's friends may kind of know her secret, the rest of the world didn't and the diva knew that the Latina wasn't ready for them to. Rachel herself wasn't sure about it. She really liked Santana, but she had liked Finn too and had been very attracted to Noah at one point. She wasn't scared of liking girls; she had two very supportive fathers. But she wasn't ready for the label that would surely come, if it didn't even fit her.<p>

On the other hand, Santana Lopez had just sexily beckoned for Rachel to join her in the bathroom. Does one really need to waste time weighing pros and cons after that? The diva looked around to make sure no one else was in the hallway, before opening the door. When she got in there, Santana was nowhere to be seen. The other girl had gone into a stall. Maybe she actually just needed to use the restroom. The diva decided to tease the Latina anyway.

Rachel turned and put her hands on the sink, waiting for the stall door to open. When she heard a toilet flush, she got into position. She bent down with her legs straight and reached until she was almost touching her toes. When she heard the door opening, she turned around with her eyes wide and innocent. "I think I've been a bad g-" Santana wasn't in front of her. Instead, an old lady was, wearing a Sunday church type of dress. "Opps," the diva squeaked out, standing up immediately. She had gone from a wide-eyed doe look, to a deer in headlights look, in less than a second.

"In all my years," the woman was holding her hand over her heart and looking outraged. "Young lady, I don't know what you think you were doing, but this is a public place. Your behavior is inexcusable."

"No, I was just trying to find something I dropped." The diva looked on the ground wildly to find a way out of this horrifying situation. Her eyes caught sight of something shiny and she reached out for it. Halfway there she realized it was a still wrapped condom and jumped back with a loud gasp. "Not that!"

The lady's eyes narrowed in on what the diva had been reaching for. "Despicable," she yelled. "Why am I not surprised?" The diva had no answer. She just stared in horror, shaking her head slowly. That's when Rachel heard giggling coming from a stall near the back of the room. Both heads snapped to the stall door. The diva glared, but the woman just looked confused. She shot Rachel one last look of disgust before leaving the bathroom. The diva heard her mutter, "this generation…" as the door shut.

"Smooth going, Superstar. Bathroom Nookie 101: check under all the stall doors for feet."

Rachel narrowed her eyes at Santana as she stepped out of the stall, trying to hold back her laughter. "I'm glad someone is amused."

"I totally am. Priceless moment."

The diva huffed and turned away from her. "This is why I shouldn't try to be amusing. It never works out."

"It did work out. That was high-larious." Santana walked towards the Rachel's back. "And it's not like your going to see Denture Debby ever again."

"I don't know," Rachel said, lightening up a bit. "I wouldn't put it past her to come back in with a bible and some holy water to pour on me."

"You're gonna be the subject of her next Sunday school lesson." Santana adopted an annoyingly accurate impersonation of the lady. "Kids, don't do drugs. It leads to unprotected sex and bathroom shenanigans. Despicable!" Rachel's loud laugh created an echo in the bathroom. Every time she talked to the Latina, she was surprised by how many layers the girl had. She used to be the bitchy girl that helped make her life hell, but now the diva was finding out that she was actually quite playful and fun, and also incredibly caring.

"Should we go find the others now? The bathroom in the mall probably isn't the best place to hang out. Anybody could walk in."

Santana frowned, but nodded at the diva's suggestion. "I guess. I did promise Britt and Q that I'd cover the pedicures." When Rachel made a move for the door, Santana jumped in front of her.

"One second." She reached for the shorter girl's hand and intertwined their fingers. "I just know I won't be able to hold your hand for a while after this."

Rachel watched in amazement as Santana studied the linked hands. "I need to kiss you now." The Latina's chocolate eyes jumped back to meet Rachel's stare, before dropping down to the diva's lips.

Santana unconsciously licked her lips. "Ok," she said softly. Then once again, Rachel had the Latina pushed up against a door as she kissed her.


	10. Weekend Warriors and Our Best Friends

**Sorry this took so long to get out! My Microsoft word won't work and it's very frustrating. Plus I've just been busy getting everything ready for school and stuff. But whatever, you don't care about that. You care about Pezberry goodness :p Hopefully this is still worth reading.**

**And of course, thank you so much to everyone who alerts/favorites/ and best of all reviews. It's crazy, in the good way, that people are reading stuff I write and actually liking it.**

**Let me know what you think :)**

* * *

><p>When Rachel approached her usual lunch table on Monday afternoon, she was pleasantly surprised to see Santana was there, sitting next to Tina. She was even more surprised, not as pleasantly this time, when she noticed a sour looking Quinn had also joined their group. Sure they were all in glee club together, but Quinn hadn't given the impression that she was interested in spending any extra time with them, especially after she had gotten her head Cheerio position back.<p>

"Rachel, hey." Finn gestured to the spot right to him, figuring she would join him. Last year she would have jumped at the opportunity to sit with the tall football player. But for some reason, the boy just didn't seem as impressive or endearing anymore. Some reason being the beautiful browned eyed girl almost glaring a hole through the faux wood tabletop at Finn's assumption that the diva would want to sit with him.

"Uh." Rachel nervously glanced around the table.

There was a vacant seat next to the Latina that Rachel desperately wanted to fill. That was the reason Santana had decided to sit there in the first place right? She wanted to spend time with Rachel. Santana may not want others to know that they were often more than just friendly towards each other, but she had at least admitted that they were friends. And friends sat together at lunch! She smiled, satisfied by her conclusion.

"Maybe another time Finn." She sent the boy a kind smile, but took the space next to the Latina.

"Another time?" Santana practically growled into the shorter girl's ear.

"Jealous?" The diva whispered back.

Santana scoffed and pulled away from the girl. "You wish Berry."

"Why wish on something that's completely obvious?" Rachel had a satisfied smirk on her face when the Latina could only open and close her mouth a few times. For once, Santana didn't have an immediate comeback.

Finn watched the rather flirty exchange, annoyed. "You blew me off for Santana? What the hell Rachel?"

Santana's attention immediately snapped to the boy. "Excuse me Finnept? No one's blowing you off. You take care of that yourself." She gave him a sickly sweet smile that could only mean trouble.

"Santana…" Rachel said warningly.

"You blow all over your own pants if a girl gets within two feet of you."

Finn scoffed, trying to pretend he thought what she was saying was beneath him. Then he saw that Tina was slowly inching away from him, looking slightly nauseous. "It's not true," he yelled in obvious embarrassment. "Santana is just being a bitch. But that's nothing new," he added bitterly.

"Finn!" Rachel saw how tight the Latina's grip on the edge of the table was and wanted to calm her down before the situation could escalate. She knew that Santana had a notoriously low tolerance for people who annoyed her. She placed her hand on the angry girl's thigh. "Don't. It's not worth it." The diva made her fingers slowly walk up Santana's thigh, just past the hem of the girl's Cheerio skirt. "Besides," Now she was whispering in the girl's ear so no one else could hear, "if you stop this pointless argument now, you'll get farther than Finn ever did."

Santana gulped for reasons that only Rachel knew, though Tina, Quinn, and Brittany had their suspicions. Her anger dissipated as dirty images, brought on by the diva's words, flashed through her mind. "Whatever _Finn_. I am a bitch. Nothing new or insightful there."

"I- Uh… That's what I thought."

* * *

><p>Santana and Quinn continued to sit with the gleeks. The Latina always managed to get to the lunchroom before Rachel, and always had an open seat next to her, as far away from Finn as possible. The diva wasn't aware that the reason there was always a vacancy near Santana was because she gave her trademark glare to anyone who even looked like they might try to sit with her. She always greeted Rachel with a small smile though.<p>

The glee clubbers didn't quite understand the relationship between the two girls, but they were smart enough to not question it. If someone could keep Rachel from lecturing them every day on the importance of working on their vocals outside of glee club, then that was a blessing in there eyes. Even if Santana did sometimes whip a few insults at them. They really weren't so hard to take anymore. She delivered them with more of a teasing tone, instead of her old viciousness.

"Is it cold in here?" The Latina asked to no one in particular, on Thursday afternoon.

"Not really," Artie answered. He had been much friendlier to Santana lately, most likely because she had been spending more time with Rachel than with Brittany.

"Do you need my jacket?" The diva quickly asked, earning a few curious looks from around the table.

"You mean my jacket." Santana chuckled, nudging the diva's shoulder with her own. Rachel blushed and squeezed the hand that held hers under the table, away from the prying eyes. It was indeed the Latina's jacket. Santana had given her the black hoodie on Tuesday when she had complained that the air conditioning was set to high in the building: 'It's eighty-five degrees outside! So why does it have to feel like we're getting our education in an igloo?'

"Ok," Mercedes interrupted their moment. "What is going on betwe-"

"I was asking if it was cold," Santana interrupted loudly, "because Finn's nipples are getting out of control." The Latina smirked as the attention that had previously been on her, was now focused on the taller boy's chest. "Seriously, you're gonna poke someone's eye out."

* * *

><p>Santana was feeling pretty good by the time Friday rolled around. She'd managed to not upset any of Rachel's friends too much during their lunches. Well Finn was always pissed at her, but that wasn't a bad thing in her opinion. Every time Rachel sat down next to her, Finn looked like the diva had kicked his puppy or something. That shit was getting old. He had gotten his many chances with the diva, and he had messed up time and time again. Though she could relate to that. She had screwed up countless times with Brittany. But that was because she was scared, unlike Finn who always just seemed to want what he couldn't have.<p>

Despite Finn and his all around annoyingness, she couldn't deny the spring in her step. It was her hand, not Finn's, that Rachel was always holding under the lunch table. If it looked like Santana was getting mad or annoyed by something, Rachel would stroke the back of her hand with her very unmanly thumb, calming the Latina immediately. Usually they just had their fingers linked though, pulling on each others hand, every now and then, when they were feeling playful.

"Good morning Santana."

The Latina wasn't at all surprised to see the diva waiting by her locker. It had become a habit of theirs to meet up before school and between classes. It was nice to have someone to walk to class again. Ever since Brit and Wheels had gotten together, no one wanted to link pinkies with her. Not that she would do that with Rachel. She knew there would be consequences if her and the diva got too touchy in front of others. Their friendship alone was getting enough raised eyebrows to worry her. Her cheer leading uniform and bitchy attitude wouldn't always be enough to protect them.

Santana fought a yawn. "Can we just skip the school part of today?"

Rachel was outraged by the thought. "Absolutely not! To even suggest it…" The girl shuddered.

"Whoa, sorry, didn't realize we had our very own truancy officer at McKinley."

"This is not a joke," Rachel said sternly. "Excellent grades are pertinent to my future. I have a detailed plan outlining how I'm going to achieve my goals, and that's one of the first steps."

"You know, not single minute of every day has to be planned. Some of the best things in life are started on a whim."

"Whims and wishes won't get me to Broadway. They'll land me to a minimum wage job in Lima."

"Well if it weren't for whims, I'd only be talking to you right now to insult you," Santana snapped at the girl, annoyed all of the sudden. "I didn't plan on redecorating Azimio's house with toilet paper to make you feel better, and I certainly hadn't planned on helping you in the bathroom that one day."

"You know I didn't mean it like that," Rachel went to grab Santana's hand, but let it fall back to her side when she realized she was in a packed school hallway. The Latina bit her lip as she watched the diva's hand change it's route. "I make plans and lists and goals, it's just what I do. But I can still appreciate the great things that happen by chance."

Santana looked up from Rachel's hand, smiling. "Then you'll skip with me?" she asked hopefully.

"Of course not." Santana looked dejected again. "Oh, don't be such a baby. One short day of classes, then a whole weekend of fun."

"One, I'm not a baby. Two, what kind of fun?" The Latina wiggled her eyebrows at the last question.

"Boardgames, movies, the usual friendly sleepover," the diva said airily, but then added in a whisper, "and maybe some hot make out sessions, if you're lucky." Santana was grinning, until Rachel added, "Now get to class."

The Latina shamelessly appreciated the view of the diva walking away, before sighing and shuffling off to her own class. She just wanted get to Rachel's house, away from judging eyes. Between her Cheerio practice and the other girl's busy schedule, there hadn't been time to hang out much that week. Rachel spent more time practicing her singing and working on her studies than anyone Santana had ever known. There was no doubt that the diva had big plans for her future.

* * *

><p>Rachel had been obsessively cleaning the already immaculate house for the last hour. She couldn't sit still without fidgeting or biting her nails, a nasty habit she thought she'd broke a long time ago. Santana kept bringing out a strange side of her. Extremely forward and confident one minute, then nervous and second guessing everything the next. Right now was a second guessing moment. The Latina would arrive any minute now and Rachel wasn't sure what to expect. They had only ever shared a few quick kisses and secrets smiles in very public places. What if the adrenaline rush from being caught was the only thing fueling the blossoming feelings? Tonight it would be just them and that made the diva more nervous than she'd like to admit.<p>

_Ding Dong_

Rachel's stood up slowly, running her hands down her shirt to smooth away imaginary wrinkles.

"Hey," the diva said softly, as she opened the door to let the other girl in.

"Um, hi." Santana gave an awkward wave, then blushed and put her hand back down.

"I like seeing you outside of your Cheerio's uniform. It's different."

"Really?" Santana looked down at her outfit, unsurely. She was wearing black skinny jeans, a plain white v-neck, and a pair of gray Chucks. "I always feel kind of awkward. I'm so used to the same thing every day."

"Well I like it. It fits you. Your personality I mean. Not that it doesn't fit your body too." Rachel coughed awkwardly. She knew she was reaching ramble territory "I guess what I'm trying to say is you look good."

"You don't look too bad yourself, Superstar," Santana said, smirking as she brushed by the diva to get into the house. But then she looked around nervously. "You're dads aren't here right?"

"Uh, no, they left for the weekend. Why?"

"Party time!" Rachel opened her mouth angrily. Is this all the Latina had come for? "Just kidding," Santana quickly added at the girl's expression. "I just.. I'm not ready to meet them and have them hate me."

The diva sighed. "Haven't we already had this conversation. No one hates you. And neither will my dads." The two girls were now walking up the stairs, so Santana could put her bag in Rachel's room.

"Um Rach, you may have forgiven me for all the shit I put you through, which I know I don't deserve," Santana looked down, avoiding eye contact with the diva, "but your fathers definitely won't. It's like parent code for them to hate me." They were now entering Rachel's bedroom.

The diva grabbed Santana's shoulders and made the other girl face her. "First off, you do deserve my forgiveness. You deserve way more than you think you do." Rachel lightly grabbed the other girl's cheek. "I don't understand how someone as amazing as you can be so insecure sometimes."

Santana unconsciously leaned into the hand on her cheek. "Even if that is true-"

"It is true."

Santana gave a tight lipped smile. "Ok, but either way, your dads are only gonna see me as the monster who made their little girl's life miserable."

Rachel huffed and removed her hand. "My life has never been miserable."

"That's not what I meant-"

"What do you think I do? Come home every day and cry about all my problems. I deal with school issues at school. As far as they're concerned, Santana Lopez is that pretty girl who led us to a victory at Regionals._"_

Santana was frowning. "You never told them about the slushies or all the nicknames?"

"Why bring all that unpleasantness home with me? I can handle myself, you know." The diva still sounded irritated. She grabbed Santana's bag and carried it over to the bed, facing away from the Latina.

"I know that." Santana took a few steps, until she was right behind the diva. "I'm sorry if it seemed like I was implying otherwise. You're really strong. Stronger than me, or any of the other jocks or cheerleaders."

"Yeah?" Rachel turned around, with a small grin.

"Mentally. Don't get too cocky. I can still kick your ass."

"Pssh, you wish Lopez."

"Why wish on something that's already completely obvious?"

The diva grinned, remembering that those were the same words she had said to the Latina earlier in the week. That was until Santana had grabbed her around the waist, pinning her arms to her sides. Then she was being lifted up into the air, as Santana threw her over her shoulder in the fireman position. She squealed at the height and hit Santana's back. "Put me down!"

"What? I'm sorry, all I can hear is whiny screams." The Latina began to spin around.

"If you drop me Santana Lopez-"

"What? You're gonna kick my ass?" Santana asked mockingly, but she stopped spinning.

"I just might!" The Latina started to spin again. "Fine," Rachel yelled. "I won't beat you up."

"Won't?"

"Urgh, I hate you. Can't."

"That's what I thought." Then Santana walked over to the bed and lightly tossed the diva onto the mattress.

"Your a jerk," Rachel said, pouting.

"Aww, I know I am." Santana stood over the diva's spot on the bed, chuckling.

"And now you're just going to leave me alone in this huge bed?" The diva asked, her tone noticeably lower.

Santana gulped. "Should I not?"

"No, you shouldn't." The diva scooted over and patted the spot beside her.

Santana sat down rather stiffly and began playing with her hands. "So..." Rachel let out a loud laugh from her spot beside her. "What?"

"Nothing." But the diva was still giggling. "It's just... Santana Lopez has no game!" And then she was laughing hysterically and rolling around on the bed.

"Hey!" Santana was a cross between annoyed and mortified. "I have game. I can get whoever I want, whenever I want."

"Apparently you don't want me very badly," Rachel teased.

"Well maybe that's the problem."

Rachel rolled back to Santana. She was laying with her body curled into the Latina, who had gone still again. "I don't think that's an issue." Rachel pulled Santana until she was lying on her back next to her.

"No," the Latina admitted. "I don't think so either."

The diva bit her lip as she watched Santana's profile, then she leaned forward and placed her head on the other girl's shoulder. Without saying anything, she grabbed the the Latina's hand and linked their fingers. They laid there in silence and Rachel could feel Santana's body slowly loosening up. The diva definitely never thought that she would be the more forward of the two.

* * *

><p>Santana wasn't really sure why she had a sudden attack of nerves in the diva's bedroom. Rachel had invited her into her bed. They were in the Latina's domain now. She should be the confident one. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she hadn't noticed she was playing with the diva's hand. That had recently become her go to calming technique.<p>

"Have you had dinner?" The diva asked softly, like she was scared she might frighten the Latina.

Santana snorted and turned towards Rachel for the first time since they had gotten into the bed. "I'm in a smokin' hot girl's bed, do you think I care about dinner right now?" Rachel's face split into a huge smile and she burrowed her head into the Latina's shoulder and wrapped one arm around her in a half hug. Santana pulled her all the way into her and wrapped both of her arms around the smaller girl. Rachel was now completely on top of her, but all they were doing was holding each other. "Your so tiny.. And soft. I've never just held someone like this."

Rachel looked up at her through long, dark eyelashes. "Brittany?" She questioned with a slight hint of insecurity coloring her tone.

"Not really." Santana shrugged and brushed the diva's bangs out of her face.

"What happened between you two?"

Santana sighed. "Let's not talk about that. There are so many better things that we could be doing in this position."

Rachel grinned and crawled so her face was right in front of the Latina's. "Like what?" She breathed out into Santana's lips.

"Like..." Santana leaned forward until she was about an inch away from the other girl. Right when the diva closed her eyes in anticipation, Santana flipped them over, so she was in the top position.

"Wha..?" Rachel was hazy from her rush of hormones. One second, she was on top of Santana about to kiss her. The next, the Latina was straddling her with a huge smirk on her face.

Santana bent down so her hair formed a curtain around the diva's head. "You don't get to top me," she whispered into Rachel's ear.

"Somebody has to be the one to initiate physical contact. If you're not going to, I'm perfectly fine wi-" The diva's long winded speech transformed into a loud moan. Santana's lips were now on her own.

Rachel's hand had minds of their own as the make out continued. They were now inching up the Latina's thighs. She loved Santana's style outside of school, but couldn't help wishing the Latina was in a skirt right now. She gasped at where her mind had taken her so quickly. Or maybe it was what Santana's talented tongue was doing inside her mouth that made her gasp. Either way, she couldn't say that she minded.

After a few minutes, the Latina pulled back to let the diva catch her breath. She ran her fingers up and down Rachel's arms as she waited, observing the goosebumps as they appeared. Then she bent down and peppered kisses over the same spots her fingers had previously been.

"So, what did Rachel Berry, planner extraordinaire, have in mind for this weekend?" Santana had rolled off of the diva and was now sitting cross legged beside her. She was seriously worried that if they continued she wouldn't be able to stop herself. She didn't want to pressure Rachel into anything.

Rachel was still dazed from their previous make out. "Well... more of that definitely."

Santana chuckled. "Agreed."

"And then, well I don't know. I was thinking a movie night or something tonight. I know that's lame..."

Maybe it was the rush of hormones going through her body, or the way Rachel looked, lying in bed with flushed cheeks, but Santana couldn't help but blurt out, "Let me take you out tomorrow. Like on a date."

"Ok." The Latina knew she would freak out in the morning, but the diva's huge grin was enough to keep her in check for now.


	11. Weekend Warriors and some Scrabble

Thanks for all the reviews and alerts! They mean as much now as they did on the first chapter :)

So I know it probably seemed like this chapter was going to be the first date, but I didn't want to cut short the first night that they actually spent together without people around. Sorry if it ended up being boring. I probably should have put it into the last chapter, since the chapters are all kind of short. If I tried to make them longer, I think I would have a lot harder time getting them out.

Let me know what you think

* * *

><p>Later that night, Rachel was glaring at a Scrabble board in front of her, which Santana found highly amusing. Apparently the diva wasn't accustomed to losing. "This isn't fair. I quit."<p>

Santana laughed. They had been playing on the floor in the diva's living room for the last half hour. "Fine. I didn't want to play this stupid game anyway." It was true. Rachel had to spend ten minutes assuring the girl that the game was actually very fun. It also helped when she had promised the Latina that she would be able to choose the next activity.

Rachel scoffed. "Stupid? It is not stupid. You're stupid."

Santana mimicked the scoff back at the diva. "Says the girl who can't beat me in Scrabble."

"You're just keep getting lucky," was screeched out by Rachel.

"Wow, you really don't like to lose." Santana was wishing they hadn't started the game at all. The competitive side of Rachel was kind of hot at first, but now it was freaking her out. "And by the way, this," she gestured to the board game, "and you being a complete psycho, is not my what I picture when someone says I'm getting lucky." Then the Latina was smirking at something only she could see. She was imagining her version of getting lucky.

Rachel had softened at first, realizing that she was being a little crazy and that she would probably scare the Latina away if she continued acting that way. Then Santana was talking about getting lucky and practically leering at the diva. Rachel reached out and smacked the girl's leg. "Your like a teenage boy. Everything goes back to sex."

Santana laughed loudly and grabbed the arm that had just hit her, pulling the smaller girl into her. The Scrabble board was wrecked in the process. "Only with you babe."

Rachel held back a smile at the girl's antics. "Don't call me babe. You sound like Noah."

"Urgh, don't compare me to that meathead." Santana lightly pushed the diva away from her.

Rachel pushed her back. "Then don't act like him," she said playfully. Then she turned to the board and frowned. "The game is ruined."

"Oh, darn," the Latina deadpanned, clearly not the slightest bit upset. "I guess it's my turn to choose what we do then," she added and winked at the diva.

Rachel shook her head. "We didn't get to finish the game. It's still my turn."

"I put you out of you misery when I ended that game. "

"I was about to start my comeback!"

Santana stared at the diva incredulously. "You're unbelievable."

"Thank you."

"Oh my god. That wasn't a compliment!" The Latina reached behind the diva and grabbed a decorative pillow from a couch. She held it up threateningly.

"I like to take a positive spin on things. High school has given me a lot of practice."

Santana looked away with a frown and unconsciously lowered the pillow. "I'm sorry Rach. I probably could've stopped-" She was cut off by a different pillow smacking her right across the mouth.

"Never let your guard down." Rachel gave a manic laugh. "Rookie mistake."

"No you did not."

"I think I did."

A full-fledged pillow fight broke out after that. Ending when Santana knocked the pillow out of the diva's hand, who then jumped up and bolted out of the room. Santana smiled from her spot on the floor as she watched the other girl run. She really had been missing out all these years. It sounded terrible, but Rachel getting slushied and then running into her was one of the best things that had happened to the Latina in a while. Yes, the diva was still loud and obnoxious sometimes. Scrabble was proof of that. But most of the time, she was kind, caring, and fun to be around.

"Scared?" She heard Rachel taunt from the other room.

Santana laughed. "Please. You're about as scary as a puppy."

Rachel poked her head around the corner. When she saw that Santana hadn't moved, she slowly walked all the way into the room. "I could say the same about you," she said, smiling softly down at the Latina.

Santana let herself fall back into the carpet, resting her head in the crook of her elbow. "As long as you're on my good side."

"We just let down millions of teenage boys, you know," Rachel said after a moment. At the Latina's blank look she chuckled and added, "We had a pillow fight that didn't end with us making out."

The Latina's blank look shifted into a cocky grin. "Is that not where this was headed?"

"And be a ridiculous clichéd fantasy of teenage boys? No thank you."

Santana groaned when the diva turned around and walked out of the room again. She wasn't used to being left hanging if she wanted to fool around. It took about two words for guys to get worked up, and then they were eager for whatever she would give them. Which, she wasn't proud to say, was usually a lot.

"So what are we gonna do now then?" Santana asked with a slightly annoyed tone when she walked into the kitchen and found the diva pouring a glass of juice. Orange juice when she could be easily getting some sweet Lopez action. Rachel had to be crazy. That's the only explanation the Latina had for the girl's behavior.

"We could talk," the diva suggested with a hopeful tone.

"Pass."

"Come on." Rachel pulled on the Latina's arm. "I barely know anything about you. Let's play twenty questions." When Santana still didn't look excited at the idea she added, "I'll make it worth your time," in a low tone.

* * *

><p>A little while later they were sitting on the floor again, this time in Rachel's bedroom on a pile of blankets. The diva laughed at how easy it had been to get Santana to agree to what she wanted. If the Latina didn't want to do something, all Rachel had to do was make vague promises using a suggestive tone. The Latina really was just like a teenage boy in some aspects.<p>

"You play guitar? How did I not know this?" Rachel was learning more and more about Santana, who actually seemed to be getting into the game now.

"Yeah. I mean I'm probably not very good or anything…" She then stared pointedly at their linked hands. Santana was making the diva own up to her promise of making it worth her time, as they played. Every time she answered a question for Rachel, the diva would move a little bit closer to her or initiate a little more physical contact.

Rachel chuckled and moved closer to the Latina, so their knees were against each other. She was enjoying the physical aspects of the game as much as the Latina was, but she also wanted to learn about the other girl. Getting the Latina to talk about anything personal was like pulling teeth out of a shark. Rachel loved to talk about herself, so she didn't understand the other girl's reluctance.

"I'm sure your great." Rachel beamed at her like she was already a famous musician. "Will you play for me?"

"Um.. I'll think about it." Before Rachel could argue, she added, "it's my turn." Santana looked nervous at whatever she was going to say next.

"What?"

"Uh nothing. Favorite color?"

Rachel frowned. She knew that wasn't what the other girl wanted to ask, but she answered anyway. "Gold. No pink. Wait, maybe green."

They continued to play with Rachel moving closer and closer to Santana, until she was sitting on the Latina's lap with her head on the Latina's shoulder. Santana had one hand on the small of the diva's back and the other was playing with one of the belt loops in Rachel's jeans.

"So…" Rachel wanted her last few questions to really count. Their conversation had been pretty light so far. "What was the question you were going to ask me earlier? But then you did the lame color one instead." She felt Santana's body tense up underneath her. "It's fine if you don't want to ask it." Rachel placed a soft kiss on the Latina's cheek, which seemed to relax her.

"No, it's fine. I just- And you don't have to answer if you don't want to- What was it like having two dads? Growing up in this shitty small town?" Then she added in a whisper, "Was it bad?"

"Oh. Um." Rachel knew Santana enough to know that this question was more about the Latina and her insecurities, than her dads. She wanted to reassure the other girl that it wasn't ever hard to be gay or have gay parents, but she couldn't lie. "I never really understood that it was that different until grade school. I had two parents just like the other kids, so what did it matter if neither was a woman? Then the other kids started making fun of me for it. That's when I started to notice the strange looks we'd sometimes get in the grocery store."

Santana pulled the smaller girl closer, but didn't say anything, so she continued. "Most of the time people were perfectly friendly though. Maybe a little thrown off at first, but not hostile. And the few that were just taught me to be strong and not care what other people think. So that's what I did." Then Rachel added in a playful tone, "And now look at me. I'm fabulous."

"You really are." The diva looked up to see Santana watching her adoringly. Rachel smiled shyly and started to turn away, but the Latina gently grabbed her cheek and held her in place. "Can we kiss now?"

The diva breathed in sharply and nodded her answer. The way the Latina looked at her sometimes made it hard for her to talk. And coming from Rachel, that was saying a lot. Finn had been looking at Quinn half the time she was with him and Puck, well he looked at anything with breasts. But Santana looked at her like she was someone special. Like the Latina had never seen something quite so amazing. Rachel was sure the way she looked at the girl who was now asking to kiss her was similar.

And the way she kisses! Santana was ruining her for anybody else. When they shared soft kisses, it felt like she was experiencing the intense emotional vulnerability of her first kiss all over again. And the rougher kisses affected her just as strongly. More in a blush from the dirty thoughts racing through her mind than a first kiss feeling, but both were equally fantastic. This specific kiss was somewhere in between.

"Fabulous doesn't even begin to describe you," Santana said, when they separated. The Latina's hands were softly stroking the skin where Rachel's shirt had ridden up.

The diva sighed and laid her forehead on the other girl's shoulder again, but this time she brought her hand up and ran it over the taller girl's collarbone. The neckline of the Latina's shirt was just low enough for it to be in view. "I have a thing for collarbones, by the way." Santana gulped when the diva placed a light kiss on the spot where her hand had just been. Rachel had kissed her, but never been very forward when it came to touching anything other than her lips. "You never told me about your family," the diva murmured into her skin.

"You never asked."

"What are they like?" Rachel gave a light nip, before pulling away from the collarbone and looking into Santana's eyes.

"There's not much to tell." Santana's fingers were still roaming over the thin strip of the diva's skin. "And I really can't focus after you just- After the neck thing."

Rachel pouted. "Please."

"Not the pout."

The diva giggled. "But it's working."

"Nope. No it's not." The Latina avoided looking at Rachel's face started working her hands up, underneath the shirt. When the Latina made it past to ribs the diva grabbed her hands and pulled them back down, earning another groan. "Fine." The Latina threw herself back, so she was lying down with the blankets beneath her. Since the other girl was on top of her, she toppled down with Santana, who didn't really go out of her way to prevent that. She did grab the diva's arm to make sure the smaller girl stayed close though.

"Like I said, there's not much to tell. And you didn't really tell me that much about your family anyway. Just enough to scare me for tomorrow."

"Because you already knew about them. It wasn't my intention to scare you. I don't want to push you."

"You're not," Santana pulled Rachel's arm to her stomach and held it there under her own hand. "It was my idea. I just have to get used to the idea, I guess. Maybe if we just went somewhere outside of Lima? I'm not ashamed of you or anything, but- "

"Of course," Rachel said reassuringly. "This is scary for me too, despite having homosexual parents."

"I wasn't trying to say it wasn't," Santana said quickly. "Sorry, I guess I've been acting selfish."

"You've been great."

"Yeah?" The Latina asked in a thoughtful tone.

"Of course."

"So have you."

Rachel grinned and nuzzled her face into Santana's arm. "You still haven't told me about your family."

"You just don't give up."

"Perseverance is my middle name. Well Barbara is actually, but that's neither here nor there."

Santana chuckled, but then sighed dramatically. "Alright. Well it's just me, my dad, and my abuela- my grandma on my dad's side. She lives with us. She's great... And my dad, he tries."

"Oh." The diva had never known that Santana didn't live with her mom. That was something else they had in common. Though she was sure the reasons weren't the same, considering Santana only had one father. She was scared to ask about the Latina's mother though.

Like she was reading the girl's mind, Santana said, "My mom has never really been in the picture."

"I'm sorry." Rachel didn't really know what to say besides that.

Santana turned her head in the opposite direction of the diva, but didn't move away. "It's not a big deal." Her tone said otherwise. "Can we just watch a movie or something? I'll even play Scrabble again if you want."

"A movie sounds great."

Santana turned back to her, smiling again, though not as big as usual. "When I say movie, I mean macking out in the dark. You can put a movie on too though, if it makes you feel better."

"Oh, ha ha." But Rachel was glad that Santana was back to her usual mood.

Despite what the Latina said, all they ended up doing was throwing the blankets back on the bed and watching a movie. Some cuddling may have occurred, but nothing past that. Santana seemed distracted throughout the movie. Though that could have just been because she didn't have the same passion for musicals with Barbara Streisand in them that the diva had.

Rachel woke up to an already light room. It was morning. She must have fallen asleep during the movie. She couldn't help that Santana was such a comfy pillow. Speaking of Santana, the girl was no longer in the bed with her. Instead, Rachel saw a piece of paper where the girl had been.

'Superstar, Didn't want to shatter the illusion of a first date by waking up in bed together the day of. Just know I wasn't using you for a cheap cuddle ;) I'll pick you up at 6. Oh, and good morning.'

Rachel grinned sleepily at the adorableness of the note. Santana tried to act so nonchalant about everything, but she was actually really thoughtful and sweet. Though she would probably deny that fact in public.


End file.
